Three's Company, Five's A Crowd

Writers: AL, Kaysea
Date Posted: 12th July 2008

Characters: J'gen, Irlani, Calliea, Talliea, Gyta
Description: J'gen prepares to have dinner with Gyta and Irlani but is interrupted by a couple of visitors.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 11, day 2 of Turn 4

"Ah, there he is." Irlani had promised J'gen that she would meet up with him at the entrance to the dining hall with Gyta in tow. She had arrived on time, but the dragonrider had beaten her there already.
She smiled to him as they approached, then gently nudged the child forward. "You should go ahead and show him the picture you drew today."

Gyta stepped forward and held out the rough paper with the drawing she had done of the dragons up on the high ledge.

J'gen reached out and took the drawing, surprised at how clear the picture was. "Wow!" he exclaimed, "You're going to be a good harper when you're older," he joked, "if you keep this up." He caught Irlani's eyes above the child's head, "Off with the artists today?"
he asked, referring to Irlani's idea of acquainting Gyta with the different crafts that were available to the child.

"Yes, we were." Irlani nodded, her smile widening. "We did some pottery too, but it has to be fired and dried. Then we get to go back and paint it."

"Oh?" his eyebrows raised as he looked back at his daughter. "You have been busy today, haven't you?"

Gyta smiled and nodded before pulling out the chair next to her father and sitting down. She held up her hands to indicate she had cleaned them first, before coming down to eat.

J'gen stood and pulled out the chair opposite him, "Please, sit down."
he encouraged Irlani.

The foster mother slid into a seat and settled, her smile still playing upon her lips. "And how was your day today?"

"Busy, it always is after a Fall, but I'm pleased to say that we had mainly minor injuries this time, and it was one of the younger riders which is to be expected. The only serious injury will be back in the air within a sevenday or so." he took a draught of the mug of ale he had before him. "Would you like something to drink with the meal? I hear we had a nice delivery of wines this sevenday - or so my journeyman tells me."

"Certainly, that sounds like it would sit well." Irlani's mouth quirked to the side. "My mother always said that a bit of wine helped with digestion. I think she was rather obsessed with digestion, however, so I'm not sure how much weight we should put on that advice."

J'gen smiled and a slow chuckle escaped at her words. "Well, we'll see how well the wine sits with our meal, and then we shall judge for ourselves." he nodded firmly. He was about to suggest she go and get something with Gyta whilst he saw to the wine, when a familiar face caught his eye from behind Irlani. He pushed the chair out, and beamed across at the figure approaching, and then realised there were two people approaching the table.

"Oh Sweet Faranth!" he exclaimed, the smile widening and his eyes flashing happily.

Irlani turned, surprised at the words that sprang forth from the dragonrider's mouth and tried to find the cause of it. Her gaze finally focused upon two faces when she realised they were headed straight for her table. "Friends of yours?" She asked.

"My daughters." J'gen grinned, his eyes flashing to hers for a moment, before he stepped away from the table and towards the two girls that approached. "Calliea! Talliea!" he exclaimed opening his arms wide and enclosing both girls in a wide embrace. "What are you doing here?"

"We're on delivery duties, today. Medical supplies we have traded with you. Needlethorns and aconite supplies." Talliea hugged her father tightly, then turned to embrace her little half sister. "Gyta! How's my little sister?" she asked, crouching by the child's chair and embracing her warmly.

Calliea, a little more reserved than her sister fixed her gaze on the woman sitting at the table with her sister. "Hi, I'm...Calliea, J'gen's _older_ daughter." she said, emphasizing the word older, her eyes briefly lighting on her twin. "By a quarter candlemark, at least." she grinned.

Irlani laughed softly at the young woman's words, then stood to hold her hand out to first one twin, then the other. "Well met. I'm Irlani, Gyta's foster mother. I didn't realise that J'gen had more children."

"You didn't tell her about us?" Talliea turned curious eyes on her father.

"Well..." J'gen looked from one to the other, "We've been concentrating on Gyta this past couple of sevendays." he admitted, "But I would have mentioned you eventually. Forgive me?"

"Of course father, as long as Gyta is...the way she is," Calliea assured him, "we can't hold anything against you for looking out for her welfare." she tapped her sister on the shoulder, "Isn't that right, Talli?" she asked.

"Oh...er, yes, of course." Talliea nodded, her eyes glancing to her sister before settling on the fostermother. "So... how long have you been with Gyta and...father?" she asked, her eyes holding the woman's gaze.

Irlani tilted her head to the side as she pondered the answer to the question. How long _had_ it been? It had seemed like she had been with Gyta for many turns, though that wasn't so. "About three sevendays. Has it been that short of a time?"

"Yes, but a lot has been accomplished since then, and Gyta and I have adopted Irlani into our small family group, now too." J'gen beamed, missing the looks his daughters gave each other in the process.

Irlani managed to barely hide the surprise that flashed through her at J'gen's statement. While she loved Gyta and considered her a daughter, she had no idea about J'gen's thoughts on the matter. She was pleased and she laughed softly. "Oh, so I'm family now. Good to know."

"Well, you could hardly be anything less, now could you?" J'gen asked, ushering his daughters towards the table. "You have been a boon to Gyta, and me, since you came." he nodded forcefully. "Come on girls, sit down, sit down." he told them, dragging two more chairs towards their small table. "Have you eaten?"

"Sit down father." Calliea said, "We've come to see you and Gyta, not to be fussed over."

"Why don't you two join us?" Irlani echoed J'gen's sentiments and motioned two chairs next to their small group. "It would be nice to get to know more of J'gen's children."

"Oh?" Calliea asked, taking a seat opposite the foster mother, "So you've met our brother as well?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. If Vordrigen had already met Irlani why hadn't he told them, she wondered.

Talliea tood a seat next to her younger sister, and began a rather one sided conversation, ignoring the growing animosity Calliea had started to show towards Irlani. She glanced up occasionally, watching how the woman handled her sister. She knew that out of her and her sister, Calliea was the one who felt their fathers distance more.

It had been bad enough when they discovered Syrita and Gyta where a part of their fathers past that they had known nothing about, but now
- another woman? Talliea could sense Cal's growing jealousy and knew that later that day her own ears would bear the brunt.

"No, I didn't realise there was a son as well." Irlani shook her head.
She supposed J'gen just hadn't thought to bring it up. And really, they were friendly acquaintances, so why should he talk to her about his family? He had stated she was part of the family, but it was obvious that it was in words only. "I've yet to meet him. Please, though, tell me about yourselves."

"Oh... so you haven't met Vordri?" Calliea asked, a little mollified that they hadn't been skipped over by J'gen in favour of his only son.
"He's a healer." she said incidentally. "Not good enough to be a rid-"

"Calliea!" J'gen was quick to cut his daughter off. "Vordrigen was never interested in being a rider, he never Stood." he finished, partly in explanation to Irlani. "You'll have to excuse Calliea for her behaviour, she isn't quite as mature as she would like to think she is."

Talliea gripped the edge of the table, why did it always have to be like this when they got together? Calliea had always been jealous of her father's attention - disliked anyone coming between them - including herself and Vordrigen.

"It's all right." Irlani said soothingly, then looked straight at Calliea. "I never stood, though my husband did and he became a rider.
Impressed a gorgeous brown."

"Oh..." Calliea visibly eased in her chair, "You're married, then?" she asked, a smile returning to brighten her face.

Talliea sat back, a sigh of relief slowly ebbing out of her.

There was a moment of silence as Irlani's gaze lowered and her fingers played at the table. When she responded, her voice was soft.
"I was."

"Oh." Calliea's voice didn't sound apologetic, and Talliea could see she was beginning to go on the offensive again, but before she could make a comment, she saw her father sit upright in his seat.

"Calliea, I think you owe Irlani an apology for your impudence." he said slowly, and quietly. Even if Calliea had wanted to make any more comments, her fathers quiet tone was enough to still her tongue for a while. "I'm sorry." she said quickly, though it didn't sound as if she really was.

Irlani's small, sad smile was genuine, even if Calliea's apology was not. "It's fine. But please, enough about me, I want to know more about you two."

"About us?" Talliea leaned forward, "there's not much to tell really." she shrugged, though she kept Irlani's attention, preferring to take over the conversation to keep Calliea for further angering their father. "We're from J'gen's second weyrmate. Our mother died quite a while ago." she said, with little emotion to her voice. "And Vordrigen is from his first." she hoped Irlani would realise that any attachment to their father would be fleeting as had all his previous relationships been.

"Which weyr do you call home?" Irlani queried politely, any hints from the girl going right over her head, not due to being dense but simply because she had no sights set on the woman's father. "From J'gen's reaction, I'm assuming it is not here."

"No, we're at Far Island Weyr." she shook her head, "Where mother and father were when we were born. Our foster mother still lives there, and as riders we can now visit father whenever we have a chance, so its all good." she became a little more anomated as she settled in with Irlani, and didn't seem to notice the scowls that Calliea had been throwing her way.

The fact was that Irlani did notice, but she was not going to call attention to them - at least, not at the moment. Instead, she was hoping to encourage conversation by asking them about themselves. "I've never been to another weyr besides here. Tell me about your home."

"A Weyr's a Weyr, isn't it?" Calliea interrupted, but a small cough from J'gen reminded her of his presence. "Much like this one, but colder in the winter months." she said with a little less aggression in her voice.

"Calli, come for a walk with me, please?" J'gen asked, rising from his chair and helping her up from hers. "Excuse us, Irlani, Talli. We'll be back shortly." with a small apologetic smile, he led his daughter away from the table.

"I'm sorry." Talliea said, turning back to Irlani; she also wore an apologetic look on her face. "For Calliea's behaviour."

The woman rested her elbow on the table and watched J'gen and his daughter for a moment before turning to her twin. "May I ask why she has so much hostility toward me?"

"She'd have hostility to anyone whom father took an interest in." Talliea answered honestly. "It's not you. Just anyone who may come close to father again, like Syrita did."

"Interest?" Irlani laughed and shook her head. "Oh no, it's not like that at all, it's just..."

At the mention of her mothers name, Gyta turned and looked up at her older sister. "Maaa..." she said quietly, her sad eyes became moist.

Irlani cut off when she heard Gyta and her expression changed to one of empathic sorrow. "Oh darling." She drew closer to the child, taking up her hand and stroking it tenderly.

"Oh Gyta, I'm sorry." Talliea leaned forward, her arm slipping easily around the little girls shoulder. "I...I was trying to explain and now I've made things worse." she shook her head, "We shouldn't have come over today, we really shouldn't."

"Nonsense Talliea." Irlani stroked Gyta's face, wiping away a tear and smiling first to the child, then to rider. "You are their family. It is right and good for you to visit them. And...I think I understand what you're saying. I promise you, I would never willingly hurt J'gen. It's a moot point anyway. We're really just friends who share a wonderful child."
The woman then leaned over and kissed Gyta tenderly upon the forehead.
"It's all right darling. Are you hungry? We should all get something to eat. Will you join us? Perhaps we can get a plate for J'gen and Calliea for when they return.

"Thank you for being so understanding." Talliea nodded, "Knowing Calliea, once she's had a chance to reflect, I'm sure she;ll apologise as well - and not just because she's been told to." She falshed a smile to Irlani, then took Gyta's hand in hers. "See, when you really want to, you can talk, sweetling. Maybe you need me around more often to talk to?"

Gyta nodded slowly, her eyes still damp with tears, but she gave her older sister a small smile. She clung to Irlani but allowed Talliea to take her hand and the three of them made their way through the tables towards the servery.

Last updated on the July 14th 2008

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Three's Company, Five's A Crowd