Barely Muted Irritation

Writers: Miriah, Suzee
Date Posted: 8th May 2013

Characters: Karhal, Loella
Description: Loella finds Karhal in an irritated mood.
Location: Amber Hills Hold
Date: month 13, day 23 of Turn 6
Notes: Mentioned: Zathris, Zelanka, Chupsin

Karhal

Loella

His temper was flaring as he paced in his rooms; the thunderstorm
outside didn't help his pent up frustration. Additionally, Thread was
due to fall today and with the storms, there was little he could actually
do. His first day on his forced leave and he'd not been idle a
candlemark before he wanted to chew on the walls.

He glanced around his small dwelling with a nearly repressed scowl.
He'd already done the dishes, gathered what little washing he had
and had even swept the shaffing floor. Zathris was trying to drive him
utterly insane, he decided.

Loella ran quickly across the pavement holding her hood up with both
hands. Trying not to slip on the slick stones she held a hand out to
brace herself on a wall. That's when a gust of wind blew her hood
off and what felt like a bucket of water fell on her head.
"Sharding...." she stopped her self from cursing out loud but she
muttered under her breath as she felt the cold driops sliding down her
back. She rapped sharply on his door and then didn't bother to wait
but threw it open and stepped inside.

"Karhal, I brought you a... oof!" That was when her feet slipped out
from under her and she landed ungracefully in a heap in his open
doorway still getting soaked.

He had spun at the first knock and before he could move further,
he had a sopping wet, bedraggled, and frustrated looking woman
on his floor. "Loella? What in the blazes are you..." He sighed
and strode quickly to pull her bodily up and on to her feet, getting
his own shirt soaked in the process. He ushered her quickly to
the fire. "Sit before you freeze to death."

Peeling his now wet shirt away from chest, he stifled an irritated
sigh. Walking to his bedchamber, he stripped his shirt off, and
then the blanket off of his bed and then moved back into the
living area to lay the blanket over shoulders. "Why are you
out in this blasted weather and not at home, woman?"

She blinked as she was bodily lifted and placed on a stool. But she
blinked repeatedly when he came out of his bedroom... shirtless. She
quickly averted her eyes and tried to find her voice.

"Y-y-y-ou invited me to dinner, didn't you?" Her teeth were now
chattering and she rubbed her arms briskly.

"I did?" He paused and pushed his hand over his hair, slicking
it down against his skull. He remembered, but it had slipped his
mind in his own frustration about Zathris' orders. Noticing her
chattering, he moved to bend in front of the fireplace and perhaps
more viciously than usual, stoked the fire hotter.

He glanced behind him at Loella. "Wrap up in that blanket. It'll
help." He then noticed that she was pointedly not looking at him
and then glanced down. "Oh for Faranth's sake, you've seen
me shirtless before. I cut wood for your parents." Stalking back
to his bedroom, he rummaged through his dressers.

She obediently pulled the blanket around her after shedding her
dripping cloak. Then she kicked off her shoes and put both them and
her feet closer to the fire to dry out.

"Yes," she retorted. "But you were outside and all I saw was your back
before mother pulled me away to another part of the house!" She yelled
the last after he disappeared into his room again.

Stifling a sigh, Karhal pulled a shirt over his head and took a deep
breath as he pinched the bridge of his nose. His irritability wasn't
Loella's fault, and he needed to calm his temper. *Discipline,*
he reminded himself. Difficult when faced with Loella at times,
but he could manage. He hoped.

Shoving his foul mood to simmer under the surface, he came back
into the living area with a modicum of control over his features.
He took a measured breath. "I'm sorry for snapping, I've just not had a
good morning." He moved to adjust the blanket over her shoulders,
and gently pulled out her damp hair from under it in order to allow
it to dry as well. "Did you want to eat in the dining hall?"

The warmth of the blaze began to seep into her and the chattering of
her teeth calmed. When he apologized she smiled softly and shrugged.
They were, neither of them, the easiest people to be around. "What
happened," she asked as she ran her fingers through her hair to help
it dry. Then nodded at his suggestion of eating in the dining hall.

He moved to sit beside her and exhaled. "Lord Zathris is making
me take a week off of my duties." He frowned, his displeasure
clear. He glanced at her fingers working through her hair. "I have
a brush."

"That would be nice," she smiled. "But why is Lord Zathris making you
take a week off?" It certainly didn't make any sense to her and her
puzzlement showed in her voice.

After retrieving his brush, he handed it to her before sitting back in
his chair and thrusting his legs out in front of him. His expression,
normally
guarded and neutral, clearly was irritated. "Apparently, Zelanka and that
healer Chupsin believe that I'm not taking care of myself and have
convinced Zathris that I'm working myself to death. " He snorted softly; his
irritation making him far more open than usual. He needed to vent and
unfortunately, Loella had caught him before he could suppress it. "I
don't need a sharding vacation."

She took the brush and began to work through her mass of wet tangles
as she listened to him pout. "You _have_ been working hard and losing
weight Karhal," she said.

There was a low sigh and Karhal looked over at Loella. "Not you too."

"Hey," she said and the brush dropped into her lap. "People care about
you. That's a _good_ thing."

Abruptly rising, Karhal began to pace, his footsteps jarring as he pushed
a hand through his short hair. "I know that. But..." He moved to stand
in front of the window, his grip tightening on the pane until his knuckles
were white. "...shards, I don't know what to do with myself. I've always
worked."

She tilted her head and then remembered something. "I brought you a
book," she said. Though she didn't quite know what had happened to it.
Looking around she didn't see it in plain view. "I thought you might
like it."

That made Karhal stop and turn, blinking. "A book?" He hadn't taken the
time to actually read for it seemed like ages. His face gentled at her
consideration." Thank you..." His gaze followed hers and he chuckled.
"It's probably outside." He strode to the door, opened it and looked down.
Bending, he picked up the now soggy book and held it gingerly. "Well...
I suppose I can dry it." He brought it back inside and laid it carefully
on his table, rubbing his ear. She had tried at least. And it would give him
something to do.

He returned to the couch and offered her his hand. "Come on. Lets get you
something warm to eat."

"Sure," she said taking his hand. She'd bitten off the provocative
thing that had immediately leapt to mind. Loella had waited a long
time for this courtship and she wanted to savor every moment.

Last updated on the June 4th 2013

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Barely Muted Irritation