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Josy - Thursday, April 20, 2000, 9:05 PM
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The following is a roleplay-log from SouCon MUSH (soucon.godlike.com 4201). The world of Pern is copyright to Anne McCaffrey.
Jeuneth> Kesath senses that Jeuneth sounds... oh... unhappy. Unhappier than usual, even. << Where is your rider? >>
Dragon> Jeuneth senses that Kesath seems in a good enough mood himself, though. << I believe my F'loran is down by the beach. What is the matter, glorious Jeuneth? >>
Jeuneth> Kesath senses that Jeuneth is not glorious. Oh, no. She's all irritated and out of sorts. << You'll see, >> comes her cryptic reply.
You step out onto the sandy, shady, lushly vegitated path, the smell of the sea and soft Southern flowers invading your nostrils.
You walk toward the Landing Field.
You walk over to White Sands Beach.
F'loran offers up het another smile - albeit a slightly worried one - as he sees Joslyn entering the area. "Heyla, Goldrider," he starts. "Jeuneth told Kesath something was wrong..? Everything alright?" Perfectly cheery he is.
T'las nods, and since he is looking over his shoulder waves at Joslyn. "Hey," he calls, then looks over at F'loran with a curious look.
Leonette grins and waves, "Hiya Joslyn!" she says brightly, then to F'loran, she says, "What'cha been up to today?"
Round the corner and down the sandy path comes Joslyn, everything about her demeanor intimating no small amount of displeasure. There's the red face, the tight lips, and the fact that she's actually RUNNING. No casual stroll this evening; the goldrider is actually cutting toward the beach at what can only be called a break neck pace. "All right? Oh, I'll show you 'all right'." And very tidily punches the brownrider directly in the jaw.
Kenla blinks. "What the -?!"
Leonette widens her eyes and jumps up from the sand, "Joslyn? What..who..why?" she stammers.
F'loran was not expecting that. Nor was he expecting to be laid out flat on his back tonight. Wobbling to one side a step or two, F'loran's brain takes too long to figure out what's going on this time..and forgets, completely, to keep him upright. He falls, as I've mentioned before, flat on his back onto the cooling white sand. "Ah, shells," he mutters painfully to himself. "What was that for?!"
T'las blinks a few times. Blink blink, blinkblinkblink. Might remind someone of Ali, not that anyone is looking at him. He gets up and hurries over to F'loran, helping him help. "You ok?" he mutters, keeping an eye on Joslyn.
"Hurts? Good," says Joslyn, shaking out her fist which will no doubt be a rather pretty shade of purple later this evening. "And don't you get up, neither, or I'll knock every last one of your teeth out," adds the calmly irate goldrider, folding her arms and adding for the benefit of befuddled onlookers, "Our dear wingsecond deserves far worse, I assure you. Best leave him on th'ground, weyrling, or I'm gonna have to punch him again." Well, she's certainly making lots of sense tonight.
Kenla scrambles to her feet. "Joslyn," she says, adding an overly polite, "Ma'am, why?"
F'loran picks himself up just anough to free one hand so's he can rub at his aching jaw. "What in Faranth's name did I do?" he sputters out, wincing a bit since his jaw hurts so bad. He makes no move to get up, though... None at all.
Leonette sighs, and says, carefully not getting any closer to Joslyn, "What's wrong Joslyn? Why're you actin' so strangely?" she says, confused.
T'las looks up at Joslyn, and tries to stand up, which doesn't do much becuase he is short. "I see, well then how about you leave so he can get up then? He obviously has no idea what this is about."
Shaking her head, Joslyn replies stoutly to T'las, "He DOES no what this is about, he just doesn't know he knows." That, somehow, seems logical to Joslyn who turns to Kenla and explains, "Because I'm going to have a baby and it's all HIS fault! He oughta get popped in th'face every day for nine months, if you ask me." So... uhm... don't ask her.
Kenla blinks. "Why's that a /bad/ thing?" she asks.
Leonette carefully walks closer to Joslyn, with a forced smile, "Joslyn! You're pregnant? That's /good/!" she says, though she looks a bit confused.
F'loran BLINKS. Once. It's a really huge blink, though. His eyes are wide enough to pop out, and his draw - pained though it may be - drops open. "He.." Er. "I.. You're gonna WHAT? NO shardin' way!" Pause. "You knocked me in the jaw for /that/?" He wrinkles up his face a touch.
"Why?" Joslyn repeats, seizing on Kenla's question as she shoots daggers at poor F'loran. "Why? Because it's a terrible thing t'have happen. Babies're terrible, crying, screaming things." Even worse than the goldrider herself. "And *I* can't be a mommy. And HE can't be a daddy. It'll be a horrible mess and don't you say a word, brownrider. This is all your fault." Which of course means he has no say in the matter.
T'las snorts, obviously not understanding her, anger. "So? Telinda fostered her baby. You saying you can't do something Telinda can?" he asks coldly.
Leonette shrugs, "Joslyn...babies are cute! I bet you change your mind a little later." she says with a tenative smile.
Note that no one is surprosed that the pair /are/ a couple, at least a couple for long enough to get them into this situation. Kenla nods at T'las. "It can't be terrible. And you should take care -- Telinda has a hard time having children. So do some other riders. You should feel lucky." So there.
Joslyn replies matter-of-factly, "I can't do most things what Telinda can. And Fol's an idiot so th'poor kid doesn't have half a chance for being smart and well-raised and stuff. Even if it is fostered off someplace." She makes an ugly face at Leonette and says, "Cute? You ever seen babies be born? It's all messy and gross and now I have to do it. And Tel can't have that much trouble else she wouldn't have three babies already. 'Sides, whatever Tel's doin' ain't important. *I* don't like babies and babies don't like me."
Kenla's face twists. "F'loran's not an idiot," she notes, softly.
Note that T'las wouldn't be surprised by /anyone/ being a couple in this weyr. He shrugs at Joslyn. "That's fine. Then stop hitting a brown rider and take your anger out on something else. Go clean your weyr or something." WHoops, telling a gold rider what to do is something a weyrling should /not/ be doing.
F'loran mumbles something about already having cleaned it.. He says little else, though. He does take this opportunity to sit up and rub at his jaw a little more, however..
Leonette wrinkles her nose, "Joslyn! Fol's not an idiot! He's sweet!" she says, then smiles, "And /after/ they are born, they are. 'least after ya clean em off." she smiles.
"Oh, but he is," says Joslyn certainly, pointing to the brownrider on the ground without so much of a doubt in her mind as to the level of his supreme idiocy. "Ask him, he'll tell you he's an idiot." At least, he better, or he's probably going to get clocked again. She makes another ugly face at Leonette and says, "Sure, but then you gotta clean 'em almost every day after that till they're big." Almost every day...? Erm.
Leonette blinks, and then sighs, "I give up" she mumbles, then looks over at F'loran, finally remembering to ask, "Are you okay?"
T'las sniffs, a little indignantly, at Joslyn. "You done now?" he asks quietly at Joslyn, a look of defiance in his eyes.
"Yeah, I'm alright," F'loran mumbles rather disheartedly. "Shells, I don't think /anyone's/ ever hit me /that/ hard, before. Not even L'mir.." That draws a slight grin from the lad which, in turn, draws another grimace of pain. "And I'm not a /total/ idiot.. I think we could raise the kid to be.." Pause. Er.. "Well.. He could be a Steward..eventually.." Ok, so he is a total idiot.
Joslyn replies, tossing her chin at that weyrling's defiance, "I might be. Accourse, I might not be. What difference does it make t'you?" She shakes her fist to F'loran and adds, "Stand up and I'll hit you again so you could be sure. We can't raise a kid, Fol. Don't kid yourself. It'll never work, never in a billion Turns." Having slipped into defeatist mode, Joslyn is at least less threatening - in favor of being honestly disconcerted. Her expression quite clearly reads, This sucks.
Leonette sighs, "F'loran I'm sure that you and Joslyn, could raise a baby together to be perfectly normal." Of course, you have to realize that her view on 'normal' is warped...
Kenla ers, and takes an awful risk, moving between brown- and goldrider. Sort of waiting, at least, to do so.
T'las doesn't back down, he is too stupid not to. "Like I said, have the baby fostered, and top threatening F'loran. You don't want the baby do something about it," he replies coldly.
F'loran's either in determined mode, or is being even more of an idiot.. Howso, you ask? He's standing up. Not only is he standing up, but he takes a step or two toward Joslyn. He shakes his head several times. "No, no, no.. You, of all people, Joslyn, can't give up /that/ easily." He turns rather cold eyes on T'las after that remark. "Your opinion, weyrling, is not warranted in this matter. I appreciate your attempts to help, but stop. You're not helping."
Leonette decides that perhaps she should join Kenla...after all, Kenla again Joslyn? By herself? But she's closer to F'loran, however.
Stated as if it really mattered, Joslyn tells T'las, "I don't like you at all. You bother me." It's a matter of adding insult to injury, the way that weyrling talks to her. "I ain't givin' up. I'm being realistic. We ain't the brightest glows in the bunch, Fol, and we oughta not be having babies." She folds her arms and just looks at Kenla. The real ichor has died down; now comes the realization.
Kenla just stands there. If there are no blows, she's staying out of this. Except to say, "Hitting doesn't solve your problem." Which is true, if simplistic.
T'las shrugs and takes a step towards Leo and Kenla, leaving them to battle it out so to speak.
Leonette kinda...hides behind Kenla. But she's right there, anyhow. "She's right, ya know." she says, nodding at Kenla.
F'loran dismisses that whole idea with naught but the grandiose wave of his hand. "Bah. Bother realism. Just 'cause we ain't the brightest glows in the bunch doesn't mean we can't do this. Shells, Joslyn.. You're a weyrwoman.. I'm a wingsecond. They don't keep total idiots around in these positions. We can manage one," he reiterates that, "ONE child, I think."
Kenla also corrects, "It's not a problem, either. It's a child."
Joslyn says matter-of-factly toward Kenla and Leonette as one, "Sure does make me feel better." Despite the fact that she is now shaking her hand rather vigorously behind her back. Karma: She punches F'loran in the face and now her knuckle swells. Joslyn simply cannot win for losing. "I ain't figured out why you've got a position yet, Fol, but they only keep me 'cause they gotta. Shells, Tel TRIED to send me off more'n once." Frown. "It IS a problem. You seen my firelizard? No? Neither have I. That should tell you something 'bout my capability at carin' for small, living objects."
Leonette blinks, then says, helpfully, "Your not the dimmest either..." She shrugs, "Fire lizard are alot different than babies." she adds.
T'las stiffens as F'loran is hit again, but doesn't make a move. Fol made it abundantly clear he doesn't want his help in this.
F'loran wrinkles up his face, as is the usual when Joslyn slings an insult at him. "I got the position 'cause I'm good'n dependable." Firm nod. "But babies are different," F'loran says, echoing Leonette..sorta. "Firelizards already have a mind of their own when you first get 'em.. They only stick around when ya feed 'em. Babies.." Pause. He has no idea what he's talking about, can you tell? "Babies're easier not to lose!"
Leonette nods then grins, "Until they get to walkin'. but by then you'll be used to it..." Where did she learn so much about babies? Interesting question...
Making a face right back at F'loran (such a loving, doting couple, hm?), Joslyn says, "I dunno. I bet we could lose a baby if we tried. Shards! I bet we could lose a baby even if we don't! I can't hardly find my boots most of th'time! How'm I s'posed to know where a baby is all the time?! This is stupid. This is th'stupidest thing I've ever heard of. This is the worst thing you've ever done in all your life, Fol." Nevermind she PROBABLY had something to do with it. "Till they get to walkin'? But... but... when they walk, it's just that much harder to keep track of them! We'll have to get it a leash." Yep. Josy has thoroughly freaked out now.
Kenla just shakes her head.
Long distance to F'loran, Kenla, Leonette, and T'las, Joslyn's logging, btw. :)
Leonette shrugs, then walks toward Joslyn, pretty sure she's not going to get herself punched now. She laughs, "I did that once with my little sister. It was amazing, but she didn't seem to mind all that much..." she smiles reasuringly.
"A /leash/?" F'loran spouts out. "Oh, nonononono.. It'd prolly choke to death on the thing. Can't tie it down, either.." He isn't actually /thinking/ of these things, is he? Hmm.. "Look. Joslyn. We'll figure it out, I'm sure. No one," except nannies, but don't mention that, "has any experience with this stuff 'fore they have their first kid. And I'm SURE," he hopes, "that there've been stupider people than the two of us on Pern who've successfully raised kids before."
Marila strides over from the lakeside meadow.
T'las still stays out of the conversation, especially since he doesn't even have a clue what to say. His head just keeps moving back and forth between the speakers.
Leonette turns and gives F'loran a queer look, "F'loran? You don't put it on their /necks/!" she laughs, "You put it around their waist!" she says.
F'loran blinks, and says, simply, as if that hadn't occured to him, "Oh.."
Marila wanders out carrying a length of towling. Clearly the only thing on this weyrlingmaster's mind is rest and relaxation.
Joslyn frowns again - a common occurrence this evening - and notes, "I'm sure there've been dumber folks what had babies, yeah, but where're those babies now? Prob'ly all grown up and still attached to leashes 'cause they're too sharding stupid to go wandering on their own. Marila!" She seizes upon the appearance of the assistant weyrlingmaster and points her finger (the one with the bruised knuckle) straight out at T'las, "He was yelling at me and bein' disrespectful."
Leonette laughs as something occurs to her...then laughs again, "Joslyn! My parents were stupider than y'all, and look at me!" OKay...not /quite/ the point she wanted to make...
F'loran doesn't think Leonette's that bad. Shells, she's EINSTEIN compared to Fol. "Yeah!" he blurts out after her remark. "See Josy? Leonette turned out just fine!" Smile.
Marila clenches her jaw. Oh Faranth. Since its a weyrling.. she has to deal with Joslyn. Just... great. She shuffles over towards the pair, "Alright what happened weyrwoman?" Her gaze flicks towards T'las.
T'las crosses his arms. Figures, ask the irate goldrider what happened first. He doesn't look the lest bit repetent.
"Yeah, but... but..." Joslyn is having a little trouble forming an argument that doesn't totally and completely belittle poor, helpful Leonette. "It just won't work. Just wait'n see. It'll get lost or run away or somethin' worse and then we'll haveta go look for it and it'll just be bad." Logic is not Joslyn's forte, for the record. "What happened? I'll tell you what happened. That weyrling bluerider thinks he's high'n mighty enough to put me in my place and be all around rude." Explains a lot, huh?
Kenla blinks a moment, eyes turning toward the Landing Field. She peers between the 'couple' and mutters to anyone who can hear, "Excuse me."
Kenla walks toward the lakeside meadow.
Leonette sighs, "It won't run away Joslyn" she says firmly, "Not he feels loved." Then she adds toward Marila, "Well...actually...she punched F'loran, and T'las took his side, so now Joslyn's mad..." Well, maybe he was a /little/ rude..but it wouldn't help much to tell anyone so.
Avan flits over from the open sky above.
T'las gives a little smile to Leo before turning back to Marila, an expectant look on his face, waiting whatever she will hand out.
Shaking her finger, Joslyn says, "Tell th'rest of the story, Leo. Tell how he smarted off and acted like he was all-fired important. Tell how he wasn't at all respectful and how N'all'd probably be right upset t'know his weyrlings ain't got proper respect for no one." Poor, poor Joslyn is entirely out of sorts and only getting moreso as things truly settle into her fuzzy little brain. Baby. Bad.
Marila glances back towards Joslyn and F'loran, "Fol.. what happened exactly." She flicks her eyes towards T'las, "Please go to your couch. We'll talk later."
Nymath moves towards the lakeside meadow.
T'las nods his head and moves away, still holding his head high since he thinks he did the right thing.
T'las walks toward the lakeside meadow.
F'loran? Oh... Ok. Fol turns toward Marila, and shrugs up his shoulders. "Joslyn came down here and clocked me in the jaw. T'las came over tryin' to help, but kept smartin' off to Joslyn. Shells.. He's lucky she didn't clock him next."
Leonette blinks, "Well, you were being just a little bit...unpredictable..." she says, uncertainly. Great. Someone else to be 'disappointed' in her...
Marila sighs, "I'm going to need to know Exactly what was said."
Joslyn's all spit-fire and irritation as she says to Leonette, "Unpredictable? Can you really blame me? You think I 'predicted' having babies? Oh, no. That's all Fol's fault." She crosses her arms stoutly over her chest and looks down at her poor belly. Again the This-sucks expression comes to th'forefront. "It was more th'tone than th'words, Marila."
Leonette blinks. "Um...Joslyn...it's not like you didn't...well...it's not like you had nothing to do with it." she takes a step back. Spitfire and irritation are not good...
"So th' tone was sarcastic and vicious I'm asummin'?" The girl glances to Leonette, "Tell me what he said and how.. you seem to be the outsider of this situation." Marila arches an eyebrow.
"Stuff like, 'You done now?'," and Fol mimics the same rude tone T'las used. "Or, 'You don't want the baby, do something about it!'." Again, the same mimicing tone.
Marila jerks up straight.
Leonette blinks, "It wasn't /quite/ like that." she says. "He was just trying to help..." she shrugs.
Nodding emphatically after F'loran - the first time she's been in agreement with him since her arrival - Joslyn lets him explain that part. She's gotten a little distracted now, what with taking a great big breath and trying to put all this to rights in her mind somehow. "I can't do nothin' about it. Ain't right," she reasons with herself, sighing. Aw. Poor Josy.
F'loran ehns softly, and shrugs. "My mind's still spinning a little. Don't trust my memory right now," he concedes, stepping over toward Joslyn. "You alright?" he asks, obviously worried expression on his face.
Marila nods to Joslyn, "Alright.. consider him confined to barracks untill N'all changes his punishment."
Joslyn may have agreed with him once, but that doesn't mean she's ready to LIKE F'loran again. "Fine. You stay away. You done 'nough damage already." Very nice turn of phrase: Damage. And she's too busy sulking to go and be charitable toward that brownrider, though she does look pleased enough to hear T'las's sentence. "Good. Least he can't go disrespecting too many folks if he can't come out'n meet 'em."
Leonette sighs. Well, at least that's as bad as it gets. She looks over at Joslyn and F'loran and suddenly says, with a grin, "Ya know, y'all were really cute when you tried to keep everyone from knowing y'all were a couple."
F'loran holds up his hands in that classic 'don't hurt me I'm only trying to be nice 'cause I don't want to die' pose, and shrugs up his shoulders. "Ok, ok.. But you really should calm down, I think.. Worryin' and things like that are prolly bad for the baby." Firm nod.. We all know Fol's the definitive expert on children, right?
"Yeah, well, it's a touch late for that now, ain't it?" asks Joslyn a little sharply of Leonette, kicking the sand with one booted foot so that it sprays quite nicely. "And don't get all worked up, brownrider. I done hurt my hand once. Ain't worth th'trouble to go beating you about the face again."
Leonette sighs, "Joslyn..." she starts, then shrugs, "Ya wanna be that way? Go right ahead, be my guest," she says, then takes a step back. Might as well stay out of the line of fire...
Marila sighs and turns back towards the barracks.
Marila strides over to the lakeside meadow.
F'loran actually manages a soft chuckle this time - despite the pain - and he shrugs up his shoulders. "Well, if it helps any, you hit me harder'n I've ever been hit before. First time I've ever been laid out like that from one hit."
Joslyn frowns rather distinctly and notes, "I don't WANT to be this way. That's th'problem." She might actually look a little regretful after F'loran's addition, her expression screwing up somewhat as she glances over his damaged visage. "Oh, yeah. Sorry. I didn't come down here t'hit you. You just looked like you deserved it." Which is supposed to be a genuine apology, but...
Leonette shrugs, "Well Joslyn, seems there's two things ta do. Go around griping about your rotten luck, or be happy about it. You /and/ the baby will be better it you're happy," she says with a chuckle.
F'loran shrugs up his shoulders, and grins. "Don't worry about it. If I were pregnant I prolly would have freaked out, too.." He doesn't realize how stupid that remark was. That's the frightening part. "Is there anything I can do, though..?" Slave-boy F'loran is back!
"Happy? Oh, you go'n get yourself knocked up, then we'll see how happy you are." Joslyn kicks at the sand some more just for fun, watching it go flying and no doubt fantasizing about doing similar things to a certain brownrider's head. "Yeah, you can never touch me 'gain and then we won't ever have this problem 'gain." Sweet smile.
That wasn't really what F'loran was hoping to hear, judghing by the slight frown his face spontaneously decides to adopt. "Er... Uhh..." He doesn't know what to say either, apparently. "I was thinkin' more along the lines of if I could get you anything..or somethin' like that."
Making a frown back, Joslyn asks tartly, "Like what? A cookie? Sorry, but cookies ain't gonna make up for this one." She pats her tummy a moment - a truly silly gesture the way she carries it off - and then shakes her head soundly. "Nope. Nothin' to do but come to terms with it. But I'll warn you. Jeuneth's set to watchin' our cottage and she ain't letting you within a length of it. She's a fair bit irritated with you."
Leonette sighs and walks off. Everyone's fighting lately...must be something in the stars...
Leonette walks toward the lakeside meadow.
F'loran ahs softly, frowning a touch. "And this is something she's not likely to forget about anytime soon. Hrm." Pause. "Well, I don't wanna not see you at all, either... Shells. You'd think just once Jeuneth'd be happy for ya." He shrugs.
Joslyn's nose wrinkles up and stuff and she says, "Jeuneth knows better'n to be pleased 'bout something like THIS. Shards, she'd like to come down here and squash you 'tween her talons right now 'cept that I told her she can't." She skips a beat before concluding, "Yet."