Kae's Place (#15804)

A familiar but seldom-seen red head pokes in the door. "Kae? You in here?"

Kae lifts her attention from the books that are spread out around her on the floor, and a now well practiced hand stops Brencia's tiny pink one from grabbing the writing utensil she'd just set down. "Aife, is that you?" she calls out to the direction of the door.

Aife nods--not that it's too visible, since her whole small body comes bounding into the room with energy that would make a toddler envious. "Now I /know/ it's been too long...she wasn't here last time I saw you!" she says, motioning toward Brencia. "I was bored. Came to see you."

"She wasn't even thought of the last time I saw you," Kae agrees as she manages to bounce to her feet and wrap her fellow harper in a hug, all without stepping on her daughter. As she gently squeezes Aife, she softly whispers, "Missed you, glad you came."

Aife wraps her arms and legs around Kaeryn is good old-fashioned Aife-style and /clings/. "Missed you!" she declares before dropping cheerfully to the ground. "How've you been?"

"Tired," Kae admits with a wave of her hand at the tiny girl that has managed to wrap her little fingers around the writing utensil Kae'd been trying to keep from her. "But wonderful, honestly. I couldn't have asked for a better gift than Bren, Brencia, that's her name," she explains as she slips back to the carpeted floor and takes the pen from her daughter's fingers.

Aife drops to one knee to get a better look at the child. "Hello Bren," she states firmly, even though the child is but a month and something old and won't understand her. She straightens, eyes sliding over Kaeryn appraisingly. "They do wear you out, don't they?"

"More than I would have ever imagined *before*," Kae admits with a sheepish grin. "I remember the days when sleeping was something that I could do any time I wanted, but now," she lifts her shoulder in the way of a slight shrug, but shakes her head, "not that I mind at all. It's nice to have someone to love so much, you know?"

A flicker of darkness in grey eyes, replaced almost before it appears by the sparkling of mist and dewdrops. Love is something Harpers have a yearning for, and if they're lucky they find it. "T'rell's flight baby, isn't she?" That's right, jump right into it. At least she's had her ears open.

Kae's mouth opens, but she recovers, snapping it closed quickly enough, and just blinks. "T'rell's *flight* baby?" she repeats, softly and shakes her head from side to side before saying anything more. "Well, I... umm... it wasn't like that. Well, it was, but it wasn't," the younger harper fumbles for words as her face grows a bright shade of pink.

Was that--yes, it definately was. A giggle forces itself from Aife's lips. "Was but wasn't?" she teases playfully. "And you'll have to forgive me, I do pick up my information from the other side of the world."

"It wasn't just because of the flight," Kae admits, for the first time, to her friend. "It helped, but it wasn't just that..." she looks away from Aife as she speaks, turning her gaze to the little one that is, once again, playing with the tiny stuffed dragon that is so often found within her reach. "It wasn't necessarily that night, you know," she exclaims, eyes opening wide as she realizes what she'd just said.

And don't think the little northern spy-trainer didn't pick up on it, either. "Really?" Aife asks, bright, innocent, bouncing across the room to settle herself cross-legged on Kaeryn's bed. "Well, sometimes that's what it takes to kick things off. There's a story here?" she concludes. One that you will of course tell her?

"We were just friends, you know," Kae tries to cover for the information she unwittingly shared with her dear harper friend. "We've been friends since the last time I lived here, in this room, and that's all we had been, for so long. People talk, people thought that just because he'd visit me at Tillek that we were something more, but we weren't."

Aife tilts her head, watching her old friend stumble flustered over her words. Amasing how Harper eloquence always falters in the face of good friendly interrogation. "Remember, lovey, I'm the queen of 'friends that turned into more.' Your story's safe, now spill it."

"Jerran. I loved him, you know that, right?" Kae touches on the subject that has been sitting on her heart for over a turn now. "I never meant to hurt him, but it wasn't working. I couldn't be there, with him, the way the two of us are. Our priorities are too," she pauses and reaches her left hand up to push a stray curl away from her face, and reveals a mark on her finger, a strip of white where a ring had rested for so long, "they're too different. So I left, started studying at Master Sea Hold, and when that wasn't working, Tolia and I left on the Lady Rose." Fidgety, she reaches for the charm bracelet that is on her wrist, and spins it around, paying attention to it as she talks. "Tolia, she's T'rell's niece, did you know that?"

"I think you told me." Aife props elbows on knees, resting her chin on interlaced fingers and postponing comment until the entire tale is told.

Kae, realizing that she'd might as well just tell the story and stop stalling, takes a deep breath, and tells everything *she* knows, all at once, not stopping. "The Lady Rose would stop at Ista on each pass, and Oli and I would visit with all of our friends, including T'rell, of course. The more time I spent with him, the more I wanted to spend time with him, but he never... we were just friends... but I did spend more time with him, and we got closer, but," she pauses, and shakes her head, realizing that she isn't making much sense. "That night, I just needed to see him, wanted someone to talk to, just to be with a friend, but something inside me just wanted to show him how I felt. I think he saw it, he had to, but, he's a gentleman, and if he thought I still cared about Jer he wouldn't." Kae pauses and takes a deep breath, giving Aife a small smile. "That night, the dragons just *helped* I think.. the next morning, it was all us."

Aife makes no effort to hide the warm smile tugging the corners of her lips upward. "I'm glad to hear that, at least," she teases, before the interrogation continues. "And now...?"

"And now?" Kae repeats the question as if she's asking herself the same question. "And now, there is Brencia, and I'm here. Tillek is in the past, as is the Lady Rose."

Someone who knew Aife very well, someone who was familiar with a particular glint in the small Harper's grey eyes, might think she was forcing this topic on purpose, not just because she was hungry for gossip and her own life too peaceful to provide any. "Friends who keep each other warm?" she wonders aloud. There are worse things to be.

Kae flinches, but quickly recovers by causing confusion, shaking her head and shrugging her shoulders all at once. "He's a good father, Brencia adores him," she replies with a soft voice and a shy smile. "He stays in his weyr mostly, though, because he needs sleep. Can't fly thread when you can't sit up straight, I don't suppose." After a deep breath, she looks away again and drops her voice to an almost whisper, "Jueann was so kind to remind me that I shouldn't try to come between he and Sejith."

Grey eyes fly open, softness replaced with the gleam of steel. "Come between--but that's impossible, everybody knows that, it doesn't mean riders can't have perfectly good relationships with the rest of us mere mortals!" Aife protests, the words spilling from her lips before she can /quite/ catch them and rein them in. "Sorry. But--well, I'll stop. Is that what's wrong?"

"He's a wonderful father, loves Brencia so very much, and you should see the way she looks at him..." Kae explains softly as she watches their daugher squirm around on the carpet. "I can't expect him to make time for both of us.." not that she has ever *asked* him to, but no one ever said Kae was brave when it came to love. "His life has changed so much just bringing her into it, if he had to add me into the whole of it," she shakes her head.

Aife isn't falling for it. Unless--she shifts on the bed, kicking off her shoes and pulling her knees to her chest. "Is that what T'rell told you? Or Jueann?"

"T'rell and I haven't exactly *discussed* it," Kae admits, her voice and posture both showing how beaten she feels over the whole matter. "I didn't mean to fall in love with him. It wasn't something that I planned, or anything, but, there it is."

"Oh, Kaer...." Aife unfolds from this new pose and moves to wrap her arms tight around her friend. "Nobody ever means to fall in love. It happens, it's usually terrifying, and you just roll with it. Sometimes it takes a few tries to get right, but shells, what in life /doesn't/? You know you have to talk to him about it, if it's eating you up this much."

"But I *can't*," Kae sniffs softly and brushes a tear away from her cheek. "I'm not going to force him to decide what he wants, or doesn't," she allows herself to be hugged, and rests her head against Aife's. "I'm afraid of what he *will* say," she admits in a very soft whisper.

Aife lifts a slender hand to brush the tear from Kaeryn's cheek with her fingertip. "And who's to say he's not as confused as you are?" she suggests softly. "Never force anyone to choose anything, it's the fastest way to lose them. But you can still talk things out." Believe her. She knows.

"I'll try," Kae promises, and gives Aife a geniune smile. "After all, we are already family, aren't we?" she grins a little, and gives Aife a tender hug before pulling away and lifting her daughter into her lap. "She has his hair, and eyes. I think maybe that's why he loves her so much," she plants a kiss on Brencia's head and laughs, "That or just the fact that she's his."

There's that flicker again, a pain so well-worn its barely noticeable any more. Certainly Aife doesn't notice it. "Probably. So--you'll talk to him then?" She sinks onto the bed once more. "It's not like you have to figure anything out, really, but it does make life easier."

"I will, I promise," Kae nods her head, a little nervously, as she promises. "I already know what *I* feel, so I guess it would be nice to know what *he* feels, even if I don't like it, much."

"Well that's a start," Aife declares approvingly. "Listen...just come to peace with whatever /you/ feel, and the rest will come."

T'rell knocks at the door leading to Kae's Place and announces himself.

"Well, I've *been* knowing that I feel," Kae admits with a grin and a wink. Brencia squirms, and Kae settles her back down on the floor, quickly gathering the books and hides out of the infants reach. At the sound of the knock, she tilts her head and quickly tries to compose herself. "T'rell," she says softly to Aife before turning toward the door."

T'rell smiles easily to Kaeryn as he greets her with a light kiss, only halfway through it noticing that she's got company here. "Ah." He breaks off, nodding pleasantly to Aife. "Sorry, I didn't know you had anyone here," he tells Kaeryn, glancing around and locating Brencia with a fond grin. "Everything okay today?"

"So I gathered," Aife remarks dryly, raising a hand in something vaguely resembling salute to the rider appearing in the door. "Hi there. She didn't know I was coming, I'm sneaky sometimes."

Kae's smile brightens a little at the warm greeting, and she nods her head in response, "Bren seems to think that my work equals her toys but other than that, it's been a good day, so far. Been a little in need of adult company, so Aife's arrival was a pleasant surprise."

T'rell chuckles and walks softly over to where the infant wriggles contentedly on the quilt, her tiny hands grasping at nothing in particular. He sits himself on his heels and regards her evenly, reaching out a finger for her to hang on to. He murmurs quietly to the girl for a moment, then grins. "As long as you keep Kae from working too hard, you're welcome."

"Oh, I'm good at that," Aife promises, resting back on her hands. "Keeping people away from their work, that is. It's been a specialty of mine for Turns. Even Kae, sometimes, though she resists with everything she has."

Kae groans softly and pokes a finger at one of the books in the stack beside her. "I don't work too hard," she notes to both with a small frown. "I only work when Bren is sleeping, usually."

"C'mon," T'rell challenges, carefully lifting Brencia as he stands; she's so tiny that she fits entirely in the crook of an arm. "We all know that you're not expected to do half of what you do." He sits on the edge of the bed and the little girl begins to fidget.

"Unfortunately," Aife says, her face twisting into a playful pout directed at some blank spot in the air, "at least one of the people I'm good at distracting informs me that /his/ presence, at least, is required at home. I dragged Saf and Hinoth off on a jaunt, but they've got to be getting back." She slides off the bed, tickling Brencia under the chin on her way to hug Kaeryn again. "It won't be so long next time, I promise."

T'rell raises his eyebrows in surprise. "Going already?" He forestalls a protest from the baby by giving her a calloused finger to play with, standing again as Aife does.

Kae wraps her arms around Aife and gives her a good, warm squeeze, "And I'll try to lighten up and...everything. Promise," she replies with a wink. "Come back soon, will you? It gets a little lonely around here, sometimes."

Aife taps Kaeryn lightly on the forehead--amusing image, since she has to reach up so far to reach. "You'd better. Remember. And you know where I am if you need me." She ducks out the door with a hasty apology to T'rell. "I've been here a while, actually...and my ride's leaving. You'll see more of me." And then she's gone.

As Brencia begins to complain more loudly, T'rell brings her over to Kaeryn. "Hungry again. Is the cook in?" he jokes, shifting the girl and trying to distract her from her crying.

Kae gently takes their daughter into her arms and hums soothingly to her for a moment as she gives T'rell the usual once over with her eyes. "Managed to get away without a mark again, did you?" she teases, but the tone in her voice shows that she was, as usual, worried. Before dealing with the hungry infant, she lifts a hand to T'rell's cheek and touches it gently.

"Couple of close calls, but we're a good wing. No serious injuries at all today for us. One in ... Firestorm, I think." T'rell responds somewhat tiredly, taking a seat on the bed and scratching behind an ear absently. "Finally got the stink out of Sejith, he's sunning himself about now." [ repose ]

"Did you get something to eat on your way in?" Kae asks softly as she and Brencia settle on the floor beside the bed, and she leans against the side of the bed for support as the little one manages to find her own lunch, with just a little assistance from her mother.

T'rell shakes his head as he bends over to loosen a bootlace. "Not yet. Figured maybe you hadn't eaten yet," he explains briefly.

"I had some fruit," Kae replies with a slight shrug as she brushes a fine curl back from Brencia's eyes. "And a little juice as well," she adds quietly.

T'rell glances up, pushing an errant curl back from his own eyes in an unconscious mirror of the gesture -- only his is grey, not dark any longer. "You should have more than just that, you know."

"I guess I kind of fit food in when I have time," Kae lifts her chin to look up at T'rell, and gives him a small, but warm smile. "We'll go eat, when she's done, if she doesn't go to sleep, alright?" she offers quietly and glances back down at their daughter.

T'rell loosens his boots without removing them, clomping as he steps over to Kaeryn's side, resting a hand lightly on her shoulder as he fondly watches mother and daughter for a quiet moment.

"It's hard to let someone else watch her," Kae admits as she glances up at T'rell and gives him a sheepish grin. "I'm afraid she'll get hurt, or she'll learn to do something and I just feel that I should be *here*."

T'rell chuckles quietly. "At this age, worst she'll do is learn how to chew on her quilt." His amusement spreads to a grin as Brencia's tiny eyes focus on him. "Little troublemaker, eh?" he teases lightly, stroking her soft arm gently.

"But..." Kae frowns and shakes her head, "no one else knows what she needs or wants like I do, and," she pauses and grins, "I sound like an overprotective gold, don't I? I don't know who to trust, though. She's *my*, well, *our* daughter."

"You know, It's really nice to come back here after Fall." Softly, T'rell speaks, then falls silent again as Brencia's slight movements fascinate him in Kaeryn's arms. When he lifts his gaze again to Kaeryn, he's smiling. "You're right, you do sound like an overprotective gold," he teases. "But I think it's understandable. Would you rather take her with us?" He rubs Kaeryn's back lightly with one hand.

"I think that might be best," Kae admits, giving T'rell a smile of appreciation. "I promise that when someone that I know I can *trust* is found, I'll take a little more time for myself. Until then," she shakes her head, and her gaze falls back down on the infant in her arms.

"Well, with any luck Lika might make it down here in a fortnight or so to help out." T'rell waits for Brencia to settle quietly in Kaeryn's arms, just standing there. "Nik's really been swamped with the new foals this spring or she'd be here already."

"Too bad *you* can't do this," Kae teases as Brencia finally decides she has had her fill and her eyes settle closed. "Take her, please?" she holds the almost-sleeping infant up toward T'rell. "I think she's missed you today, you know."

T'rell laughs lightly as he transfers the child to his arm, cradling her as he waits for Kaeryn to put herself back to rights. "I'd have to say I'm better equipped for *other* things," he notes. "And did she, then? Wouldn't have thought she'd notice, just a few hours." Sacked out now, she doesn't confirm or deny the rumor.

"It could just be that she's attached to the toy," Kae admits as she manages to get herself all straightened up again, "but I honestly think it smells like you, because she seems to be upset if she doesn't have it, and I didn't think she was old enough to be attached to objects yet." She sighs softly and manages to get herself to her feet.

T'rell shrugs. "Maybe she just likes having you come over and give it to her," he suggests.

Laughing softly, the harper shakes her head, "No, because she hasn't been more than an armslength away from me all day. It wasn't me she was wanting." Tired arms are stretched up above Kae's head and she rolls her shoulders, loosening sore muscles. "I really should stop working on the floor beside her, though, it's hard on the back."

"Why don't you keep her in the crib?" T'rell, always reaching for the obvious first, suggests the obvious. "She's not exactly mobile yet." A glance down at a sleepy yawn from the girl brings a slightly crooked, soft smile to his face.

"I like having her near," Kae admits, turning away from father and daughter and pointedly searching through a desk drawer for some unseen item. "I know, everyone is probably ready to tell me everything that I've done wrong or am doing wrong but it's hard to figure out on your own," she explains, apologetically, as she continues to dig.

T'rell grins. "Nothing wrong with that. Could just move the crib next to your desk, though." The tiredness he brought in with him begins to flow away, little by little, as he relaxes here.

"That's a good idea," Kae admits as she turns, slowly, away from the desk to face T'rell. "I'm afraid that every move I make is going to turn out being wrong. I don't even have experience being a big sister, so this being a mother thing, well, it's *hard*." After taking a few deep breaths, she steps a little closer to the pair and smiles a little, "I promised Aife today, well, several things, but one of which being that I would calm down a little, and not be so...testy and nervous. I am going to try."

T'rell raises an eyebrow. "Uh, okay." Agreeable chap, ain't he? "I bet the nannies around here would be glad to give you advice if you think you need it." He glances down at Brencia, who has again begun to squirm. "I somehow doubt that she thinks you're doing anything wrong, though." His brown eyes twinkle as he studies Kaeryn. "Far as I'm concerned, you're a pro."

Kae grins sheepishly, "I'm a little overly emotional and overly protective, but I'll grow out of it, I hope." Sandals are located, under the bed, and slipped onto her feet, one at a time, and she nods her head in the direction of the door, "If I get to be too much, call Aife, and she'll straighten me out, or tell me what to do *to* straighten out." Granted, she might not always listen but...

T'rell grins in merriment. "I'll be sure to. So what else did she make you promise?" He starts toward the door, strolling conversationally and hopefully not clomping too loudly -- she's still asleep, and with luck she'll stay that way for a while.

"Some stuff that would probably bore you," Kae replies, as nonchalantly as possible, which isn't saying much for this harper lady. "Just the usual Aife stuff, I guess," she mumbles as she follows T'rell and Bren through the door, pulling it closed behind them.

Harper's Area (#4056)

T'rell walks slowly -- Brencia is starting to stir. "What's the 'usual' for Aife?" He grins. "I don't think I'm as familiar with that term as you are."

"Oh," Kae ponders her answer thoughtfully for a moment before giving any sort of response, "don't work too hard, don't stress, don't let matters of the heart get you down. You know, the usual." With that, she gives him a grin and moves onward, a little faster than she knows he'd dare go, with a sleeping infant in his arms.

T'rell accepts the harper's explanation half-thoughtfully, murmuring conversation with the half-conscious child. "What do you think?" he asks the girl softly. "Is Mommy working too hard?"

"That's the least of my worries," Kae replies, glancing over her shoulder and quickly wandering into the hallway.

Craft Areas (#4532)

It takes a moment before T'rell actually realizes that he heard Kaeryn's comment. "The least of your worries?" he echoes.

Kae pauses, having, apparently, not expected T'rell to actually catch that remark. "Well, yeah," she shrugs her shoulders as she continues to walk, not turning to face him. "Work is the least of my worries, right?" With a pause just inside the hall she turns, blinking slowly, and looks at T'rell, and just shrugs. "She still sleeping?"

T'rell shakes off the little bit of disturbance he seemed to catch in Kaeryn's tone; "Half," he replies. "And work ought to be the least of them, anyway."

"It always is," Kae says softly, reaching up to touch Brencia's soft skin, and she shrugs. "It's hard to concentrate on work when your mind is on something else, isn't it?" is the question posed for T'rell, before she turns again and continues on her way.

South Caverns (#7009)

"Mm, yes, it is." T'rell agrees, and as if echoing the sentiment, Brencia gives a loud complaint. "Shh, s'alright," he assures the girl, resettling her more comfortably in hopes of forestalling anything worse. "We know you've got big lungs."

Kaeryn's lips curl up into a smile, and she can't help but look over her shoulder again, and give T'rell an affectionate smile. "That's just her way of telling you she loves you," is the translated Brencia language for T'rell, or at least, what *Kae* thinks Bren is trying to say. "She's proud to have you as her father," she adds and ducks into the living caverns.

Living Cavern (#4190)

"Hah." T'rell follows on Kaeryn's heels, daughter cradled in the crook of his arm, refuting the harper's last statement. "What she's actually trying to say is that you're stressing again. Right?" He looks to the infant for confirmation, but she seems to be fast asleep again. "See? She agrees with me." The last is said more softly -- let's not tempt fate.

"I'm not *stressing*," Kae turns quickly, on her heal, to face T'rell again, hands planted on her hips as if she's going to argue with him, but her voice is soft and quiet. "I'm just..." shoulders lift in a confused, unsure motion and just as quickly as she turned to face him, she turns away again, finding a tray to fill with food and drinks. "Stew alright?"

T'rell is left with a rather confused look on his face. "Uh, sure." He blinks a few times, scratches his beard, and just stands there looking dumb.

Stew, rolls, juice, and klah are all served up into bowls, plates and mugs, and settled on the tray resting on the table before Kae. She lifts it, carefully, and moves toward the back of the cavern, away from the tables that tend to be more popular throughout the day, only glancing back once to be sure T'rell's following her.

T'rell finally does follow. He takes a seat slowly -- half from the day's tiredness, half for a reluctance to make sudden moves with a sleeping kid. "Okay." He licks his lips, brow furrowed as he eyes Kaeryn. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Kae's face softens, eyes shining brightly with the emotions that are whirling inside her. Tray is settled on the table, and dishes dispensed, with stew and klah set before T'rell's seat, the other bowl of stew and the juice before her own. "I just," she begins to speak, and slips down into her chair, gaze falling on the stew before her. "I've been thinking."

"Thinking, eh?" Even T'rell knows that thinking is usually bad. "About what?"

"About what's best, for all of us," Kae actually manages to reply without too much stammering, stumbling, or hesitation. Taking her spoon into her hand, she swirls it around in the bowl, causing steam to rise from the stew. "I'm not so sure I have an answer, though, not one that I can accept."

From T'rell's arms, Brencia stirs, her restlessness showing her father's agitation more than he does. "Well, then, why don't we figure out one that we can _all_ accept?" The rider's words are perhaps a little more serious than usual, but he at least attempts to keep his tone even.

Kae gulps softly as she glances up from the stew to T'rell's face for a single moment, and then down again, and the color drains from her face. "Master Jueann came by to visit about four sevendays ago, and she wanted to, well, chat, about us. You and I, and Bren, I guess. Asked me if I remembered my duty, remembered what my place is while I am here in the weyr," her voice cracks, and she lets the spoon drop to the side of the bowl to where it rests on the table. "She. She wanted to remind me that it wasn't my place..." All the harper instincts in her body drain from her, leaving her unable to finish saying what she'd been rehearsing all afternoon.

T'rell frowns deeply -- perhaps the most he's frowned in many a turn, if ever. "Wasn't your place to what?" As Brencia begins to fret, he takes a deep breath and turns his attention to her, trying to calm both of them at once.

"Wasn't my place to come between a rider and his dragon," Kae finishes her train of thought, though it doesn't seem to releave her at all to have done so. Her fingers reclaim the spoon, and reveal the fact that her hands are shaking with the emotion she is trying to contain. "Sejith and the weyr are always to be your first priority, and with Brencia and I *here*..." she shakes her head, eyes slipping closed.

T'rell looks back up slowly, nearly stunned. "You know, I'm not sure which I find harder to believe -- that a Harper Master would go so far where she doesn't belong or that you, of all people..." his voice softens, "that you would take her seriously." He breathes again, a sigh.

A trail of tears begin to slip from the Kae's eyes, and she wipes them away with a shaking hand. "I can't stand the thought that I might be interfering with your life, or your duties in any way, T'rell. I worry that you haven't had the sleep you need when you've to fly thread, because you decided to stay up with her and let me sleep... I..."

T'rell gathers his thoughts for a moment of silence, then begins seriously. "Kaeryn, maybe I haven't made myself clear before. I don't know," He catches the harper's eyes steadily. "I'm not good at these things." He looks down, self-conscious, and his gaze is captured by his daughter's, innocent as it is, and he stops again, mid-thought, in silence. Before he can be distracted or interrupted, however, he looks up again. "But I want you here. Both of you. Especially you." Frustrated at a lack of eloquence, he shrugs, his expression apologetic.

"I don't *want* to go anywhere," Kae admits, her voice barely more than a whisper, and shaking with emotion. "The idea of not seeing you every day, it...hurts more than I ever thought it would, but.." a long, quiet pause hangs in the air, and she looks away again, trying to force herself to not cry, despite the tears that are already pouring down her cheeks.

"Kaeryn," T'rell breathes quietly. "You don't need to go anywhere. Shells," he practically bursts out, "if you want to see me distracted from duty, try it. I'll be cutting sweep duty to find you," he insists with a half smile that's supposed to lighten the harper's mood, but ends up showing more his concern. Finally he stands, pulling his chair closer, awkwardly one-handed; Brencia, picking up on the atmosphere, screws up her face and grasps at the rider's sleeve and starts to cry.

"You don't think that..." Kae stops, midsentence, and lifts her gaze so that her teary blue eyes study T'rell's face, looking for some sort of clue or something. "We were just friends, I never meant for *this* to happen," the harper whispers quietly as her eyes meet his. "If you say you don't want me to go, I'll stay. I promise."

T'rell nearly laughs. "I don't want you to go. Okay?" In amazement, he directs his efforts to calming Brencia; failing, he looks to Kaeryn for help. "I think she's hungry again."

"I didn't want to leave," Kae softly explains, as she dips her finger in the juice before her and offers her finger to the infant to suckle. As their daughter is soothed, for the moment at least, the harper's attention can be fully focused on T'rell again, and she gives him a soft, sad smile, "I don't want to turn my back on what I feel."

T'rell reaches an arm around Kaeryn's shoulders, tugging her closer -- but not so much as to squish their daughter; that would be bad. He pulls her long hair from her eyes, freeing the strands trapped by the moisture of her tears. "I just don't understand why you ever thought you'd have to."

"Because to me, I thought," Kae tilts her head slightly so that T'rell's fingers touch her cheek, and her eyes slip closed, "that I'd only ever be your friend. I guess I should have known that I'll never be /just/ a friend now, not with her, anyway."

T'rell caresses Kaeryn's cheek lightly, speaking low. "Not for some time now. I thought you knew that, too." Right on cue and at a very wrong time, his stomach rumbles rather loudly.

Kaeryn sighs softly, relief evident both in her eyes and in her smile, and she can't help but laugh at the sound of a hungry stomach. "Let me take her so you can eat while the stew is still semi-warm," she offers, holding her arms out for their daughter."

T'rell complies sheepishly, carefully transferring the infant to her mother's arms. He pulls his bowl of stew over to his new seat, giving Kaeryn a crooked smile. "Thanks." From their table in the corner, then, the rider catches a glimpse of a familiar harper figure. "Hey, isn't that Marius over there?"

"Oh?" Kae glances up, quickly wiping the remainder of her tears from her cheeks, and laughing as Bren voices her complaint of being hungry and being moved.

Marius hums softly to himself as he comes in out of the evning. He sees Kaer and T'rell over to one side of the cavern and makes his way over. He shifts his pack on his shoulder, greeting the pair with a slight smile and a wave, "Heyla."

T'rell gives a quick nod and a return wave. "Evening," he greets amiably. "Join us?" He gestures with a full spoon toward an empty chair before taking the bite.

"Good evening, Marius," Kae quietly greets her friend, nodding her head at the infant in her arms as a way of apologizing for not greeting him with the usual hug. "Please do?" she agrees, motioning at the same chair T'rell pointed out.

Marius catches just a brief glimpse of the tears on Kaer's cheeks before she manages to clear them. His eyes harden a bit, but he forces those thoughts away. A grateful look is sent to T'rell as he drops his travel sack next to the table and reverses the chair before taking a seat. He turns to Kaer, "Sorry I couldn't come up sooner, love." His eyes drift down to the babe in her arms as a wide smile spreads over his face., "I'm guessing this is the newest addition to the Hall?"

"Her name is Brencia," Kae introduces her old friend to her daughter. "T'rell seems to think she looks like me but," she looks up at T'rell and gives him a soft grin, "she has his eyes." Passing a finger over Brencia's nose and chin, to find her daughter wrapping her tiny hand around in, she grins. "And energy."

T'rell smiles, a bit proudly. "Marius, meet Brencia. Brencia, Harper Marius." He completes the introductions properly. "And I'm not so sure about having any energy at all," he corrects Kaeryn lightly.

Marius chuckles softly at the interplay, then gives the youngling a somber nod. "'ello there, Brencia. Well met..." He turns to T'rell and offers a wry grin, "From the time that Masters Teraille and Caramak are having with their newest back in the Hall, I'm sure that you'll need all of the energy that you can get."

T'rell chuckles. "Catch me on a day when we haven't flown Fall and I might have a better chance." He shakes his head slightly. "Does this mean they've had a second? Haven't heard much from then in nearly a turn," he adds.

"As if that big ole bronze of his doesn't require enough energy," Kae teases, her mood brightening drastically, and she touches T'rell's arm lightly with the tips of her fingers, "yes, especially on a day of Fall." Her grin is turned to Marius and she nods at the little one in her arms, "Care to hold her? She's going to be a harper when she's older, you know."

Marius gives a slightly derisive note in agreement with T'rell, "Aye, we've all lost a bit of energy on the days of a Fall." His attention returns to Kaer as he nods with a slight smile, "I'd like that." His soft baritone voice continues on as he gently reaches out to take the babe, "I suppose we canna do anything but hope that little ones such as this will see the end of Thread, nae?" He gives Kaer a lopsided grin, "How could she be anything else with you as her mother?"

"And T'rell as her father," Kae adds softly as she passes Brencia over to Marius' waiting arms. "He's a harper as well, or did you not know?" she explains her addition to his statement with a grin. "Jathen said that he could tell she'd be a harper, with the lungs on her the moment she was born."

T'rell chuckles wryly. "Well, if that's anything to go by she'll be something of a singer indeed. And I was only an apprentice, and that 20 turns ago by now." He's corrected Kaeryn's enthusiasm on this point before.

Marius laughs in response to both as he takes the infant in his arms, gently maneuverings the child as he finds a slight more stable seat in his chair, "Then twice fated is she." He looks down into the pink face, "Well, litle one, when you're of age you'll be seeing much more of me, I expect."

"Once a harper," Kae begins her favorite saying with a wink to both T'rell and Marius. "If she isn't a harper, I don't care, as long as, well," she gives T'rell a look of the utmost respect before she continues, "T'rell mentioned once that his mother still doesn't like it when he goes ::between::. I'm afraid I'm not sure I'd ever want her to grow up to be a rider, I can only imagine how scared I'd be."

T'rell pauses, his spoon halfway to his mouth, then drops it back into his stew bowl. "Sorry, folks." He apologizes, but looks more sorrowful at his only half-empty bowl. "Guess I'll have to finish this later." He gives Kaeryn a quick kiss as he stands to go. "Sejith's complaining about itches all over -- I'll probably be a couple of candlemarks still unless you come down to the beach when you're done."

Marius half-rises as T'rell leaves, but then settles down once more when the babe in his arms complains with her pre-Harper lungs. He gives up and just gives the new father a nod, "My duty to your dragon, T'rell."

"And his to you, Harper." T'rell grins to Marius. With a last glance spared for Kaeryn and Brencia, he turns to go.

"We'll probably head back to my room to get the little one to bed," Kae gives a shake of her head with her spoken response. "Stop by afterwards, will you?" she requests of T'rell as he makes his way to the bowl.

T'rell turns back once more to nod with a quick smile. "Will do." With that, he takes a deep breath, gathers whatever energy is left, and strides out.

Creep creep creep, Anely's dark clad form can be made out if one was looking for a shadow entering the cavern area. Hoping, no, praying to escape the attention of the two children that she just needs a /break/ from. Not that she doesn't love them, no no, that's not the thing, it's just every mother needs a break. Especially from a handful like Aera and Eranel... even if it is mainly Eranel that's causing this young mother's the need to escape.

Marius watches the rider leave, then turns back to Kaer as the child in his arms begins to complain a bit more. He hands the not-even-a-youngling back to her mother, "Sorry. I do so well when they're a little bit older, but..."

Anely's not likely to lose Aera. Not when she wants her mother's attention. An Angel. Exactly. The little girl pitter-patters right up behind her Momma -- what child couldn't pick their mother out of a crowd -- reaching a stubby little hand up to tug on Ane's sleeve. "Momma! Momma! Wheresa goin'?" The girl-child inquires of her Momma, cocking her round little face upward, pale jade optics flickering with wonder at her Momma's apparently rather candlestine errand -- if she intended to loose 'Ra. Then again, it's not like a child could really put two and two together to get the act that Anely needs a /break/.

Padding in on soft, un-booted feet, Eranel is not about to let his mother esacpe his attentions. Not for a minute. Pausing in the entrance, his sly little eyes peer this way and that, trying desperately to find her darkened form in the dimly-glowed room. Scowling at his younger sister (she is a girl, after all), Eranel inhales deeply, preparing for a rather loud alert of his entrance. "MAMA! WHERE YOU'S?" he yells, the sound echoing 'round the carvern with typical child-like disregard for others...or sleeping babies.

"She's a bit hungry now," Kae accepts her daughter's placement back in her arms, and dips a finger in the mug of juice before her, allowing Bren to suckle the now-sweet tasting finger. "Gets a little grumpy when she's hungry, or disturbed," with the last bit, the new mother shoots a desperate glance in the direction of the loud child.

Marius winces as the youngling off to the side makes his presence known, "I'll bet." He checks the time-candle, "Want to head on up to whatever you've got as Harper Quarters these days? It might be a bit quieter, and besides," A wry grin crosses his face, "I've got to find some sort of cough t' sleep on tonight."

Anely's form can be seen wincing, the hood of her cape quickly being pulled back over her head... "Ooooww... Eranel... come on babe, quiet, your momma needs to have quiet time." Slender alabaster fingers rise and twine with the rabbit fur upon her cloak. "I'm just... going to get some tea Aera. Promise." Sweetly the 'headwoman replies to her daughter, reaching down to lift the little girl up before making her way back towards the direction of food and drink. "You want anything to drink darlings?"

"You can stay in my room," Kae offers as she gets to her feet, careful not to move the baby around too much as she does, "if you aren't afraid of her keeping you awake all night, that is. She does usually sleep pretty well through the night, if T'rell gets her to sleep." With a shrug of her shoulders, she wanders toward her room.

Marius gives a slight grin, then retrieves his carry-all and slings it over his shoulder as he follows the other Harper, "I'm sure we c'n work something out."

Eranel scowls again as his mother picks up his sister, and in his own mind, blatantly ignoring him. How can she? He is /much/ more interesting! Lifting his arms in a silent plea to be carried, his tiny face screws into an expression of fury as Anely wanders towards the hearth without him. "No's!" he shrieks angrily, full of bad temper. "No wants drink! Wants to be picked-UP!"

Aera shakes her head quickly so that little whisps of the trademark raven hair falls into her angelic face. "Not uh, Momma. Can I'th getta thweetstick?" Is the next thing out of the little girl's mouth. Oh no, cookies won't do for /Aera/. Only sweetsticks. Of course. In any event, despite the torture that the little girl has put him through, K'el is soon following up, fluttering lopsidedly in and carefully staying out of the toddler's reach. And, despite her angelic exterior, the child can't help but twist around so that she's hopefully out of Momma's view, then screw up her face and stick out her tongue at her brother. /Sheee/ got picked up because she's so good.

"That, I'm positive of," Kae slips through the entry from the room into the southern caverns.

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