(no subject)
Pear #1. Pride & Joy
Story : knights
Rating : PG
Timeframe : 1263
Word Count : 738
This is shortly after the whole business where Lyssa rescues Kairn (with Sethan and Reida and the exploding dummies) I intend to get back to that. Anyway, she brings him back to Mom's for a bit to try to hide him.
“Momma?” he said, still staring at her in disbelief as they made their way down the hall.
Lyssa quirked a brow. “Yeah. What of it?”
“You just never even mentioned…”
“I seem to recall more pressing matters.” The hall came to an end with a cluster of doorways. “Pantry’s through here,” she said, turning to the right.
Kairn followed her into the cabinet lined cubby, where Lyssa was already swinging open a door, as if the provisions needed displaying as well. “Not once.”
Lyssa frowned, swung the door shut on a row of sacks of flour. “So it didn’t come up,” she said, reaching for the next. “So what?”
“Enough other things came up.” She was ignoring him, continuing her little mock tour of the spice racks. “I’d think the fact that you have a child might have ranked among them in importance.”
A cabinet snapped shut and Lyssa turned to him with a scowl. “What?” She braced a hip against the counter and crossed her arms over her chest. “You want stories about the cute things she does? All her profound little toddler utterances?”
Lyssa pushed off of the cabinets and swept past, leaving Kairn scratching his head. “I don’t know,” he said. “I’d just expect something maybe.”
“Look,” said Lyssa, as they returned to the hall. “It’s not like you and Shamino. I hardly see her. Ski takes care of her and I…do what I have to. Larder’s over there. The kitchen itself is this way. Back door leads to the garden.”
“I don’t understand.”
She paused, one hand on the frame of the door to the left. “The garden. Fruit, vegetables, you know.” A look from Kairn brought on a sigh. “She’s better off here. What do I know about babies anyway?”
“But she’s yours,” said Kairn, as she slipped into the kitchen.
Lyssa shrugged. “So I’m doing what’s best for her. Stove, sink, all pretty obvious, I suppose. Pots and pans are down here.” She gave a cabinet a light kick.
Kairn settled against the wall, just inside the door, and folded his arms. “What happened between the two of you anyway?”
“What?” said Lyssa, hand on a drawer, not bothering to look his way.
“You and Rune.”
There was a moment of silence in which it seemed the room warmed a few degrees. “Nothing happened. Sometimes things just end.” She pulled open a drawer with a loud rattle of clattering steel. “Knives in here.” She slammed it back in place and yanked out another. “Boring stuff in here.” The second crashed shut as well. “A few dozen necromancers chased each of us in different directions and we never found our way back. Then Mara came along and, well, things got complicated.”
“So he doesn’t even know-”
“No.” She pounded a third drawer closed before she’d opened it more than an inch, and Kairn whipped around at what he swore was a pop from the stove. “What?” she said, once his eyes found hers again. “Bad mother again, am I?”
“I never said-”
“You don’t have to.” Lyssa threw her hands up and turned back to the counters, fingering drawers and knobs as if there was suddenly something of pressing need to be found in one of them. “Gods, the way you look at me sometimes.”
“What?” He edged a step closer, reached out a hand without a clue as to what he thought he might do with it. “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean-”
She turned back to face him, pretense at searching dropped, the palm of one hand grinding the back of her neck. “I miss him sometimes.” She shook her head and prodded the floor with the toe of one boot. “It’s so stupid, but you get all patronizing with me and dammit, I miss him.”
His hand found her shoulder with another mumbled apology. Shaking her head again, Lyssa shrugged it off. “So,” she said, headed for the door again. “You’re on for dinner tomorrow. Come by around noon, they‘ll be expecting you. Dunno what they’ll have you do. Sham can play with Mara.”
“Lyss-”
She paused in the doorway and set a hand on the frame. “And you can sleep tonight, you know. No one’s going to be coming for you here.”
He opened his mouth again, not sure what else to say, and Lyssa flashed him a thin smile. “Come on,” she said. “Let’s go get our kids.”
Story : knights
Rating : PG
Timeframe : 1263
Word Count : 738
This is shortly after the whole business where Lyssa rescues Kairn (with Sethan and Reida and the exploding dummies) I intend to get back to that. Anyway, she brings him back to Mom's for a bit to try to hide him.
“Momma?” he said, still staring at her in disbelief as they made their way down the hall.
Lyssa quirked a brow. “Yeah. What of it?”
“You just never even mentioned…”
“I seem to recall more pressing matters.” The hall came to an end with a cluster of doorways. “Pantry’s through here,” she said, turning to the right.
Kairn followed her into the cabinet lined cubby, where Lyssa was already swinging open a door, as if the provisions needed displaying as well. “Not once.”
Lyssa frowned, swung the door shut on a row of sacks of flour. “So it didn’t come up,” she said, reaching for the next. “So what?”
“Enough other things came up.” She was ignoring him, continuing her little mock tour of the spice racks. “I’d think the fact that you have a child might have ranked among them in importance.”
A cabinet snapped shut and Lyssa turned to him with a scowl. “What?” She braced a hip against the counter and crossed her arms over her chest. “You want stories about the cute things she does? All her profound little toddler utterances?”
Lyssa pushed off of the cabinets and swept past, leaving Kairn scratching his head. “I don’t know,” he said. “I’d just expect something maybe.”
“Look,” said Lyssa, as they returned to the hall. “It’s not like you and Shamino. I hardly see her. Ski takes care of her and I…do what I have to. Larder’s over there. The kitchen itself is this way. Back door leads to the garden.”
“I don’t understand.”
She paused, one hand on the frame of the door to the left. “The garden. Fruit, vegetables, you know.” A look from Kairn brought on a sigh. “She’s better off here. What do I know about babies anyway?”
“But she’s yours,” said Kairn, as she slipped into the kitchen.
Lyssa shrugged. “So I’m doing what’s best for her. Stove, sink, all pretty obvious, I suppose. Pots and pans are down here.” She gave a cabinet a light kick.
Kairn settled against the wall, just inside the door, and folded his arms. “What happened between the two of you anyway?”
“What?” said Lyssa, hand on a drawer, not bothering to look his way.
“You and Rune.”
There was a moment of silence in which it seemed the room warmed a few degrees. “Nothing happened. Sometimes things just end.” She pulled open a drawer with a loud rattle of clattering steel. “Knives in here.” She slammed it back in place and yanked out another. “Boring stuff in here.” The second crashed shut as well. “A few dozen necromancers chased each of us in different directions and we never found our way back. Then Mara came along and, well, things got complicated.”
“So he doesn’t even know-”
“No.” She pounded a third drawer closed before she’d opened it more than an inch, and Kairn whipped around at what he swore was a pop from the stove. “What?” she said, once his eyes found hers again. “Bad mother again, am I?”
“I never said-”
“You don’t have to.” Lyssa threw her hands up and turned back to the counters, fingering drawers and knobs as if there was suddenly something of pressing need to be found in one of them. “Gods, the way you look at me sometimes.”
“What?” He edged a step closer, reached out a hand without a clue as to what he thought he might do with it. “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean-”
She turned back to face him, pretense at searching dropped, the palm of one hand grinding the back of her neck. “I miss him sometimes.” She shook her head and prodded the floor with the toe of one boot. “It’s so stupid, but you get all patronizing with me and dammit, I miss him.”
His hand found her shoulder with another mumbled apology. Shaking her head again, Lyssa shrugged it off. “So,” she said, headed for the door again. “You’re on for dinner tomorrow. Come by around noon, they‘ll be expecting you. Dunno what they’ll have you do. Sham can play with Mara.”
“Lyss-”
She paused in the doorway and set a hand on the frame. “And you can sleep tonight, you know. No one’s going to be coming for you here.”
He opened his mouth again, not sure what else to say, and Lyssa flashed him a thin smile. “Come on,” she said. “Let’s go get our kids.”