The world is quiet here... |Seven|

[Zero]

It was late, middle of the night late. It was the perfect time for someone to wander the weyr without fear of running into anyone or being disturbed. Which is exactly why Vl’kan found himself up and about at this hour. Normally the man kept himself locked in his weyr, the only reason he chose to venture out tonight was due to the fact that his stock of wine and fire whiskey had run dry and he needed to refuel. With his bonded, coiled and sleeping soundly, the haggard, unshaven, man stumbled his way down to the kitchens. They had to have something that would tide him over for the rest of the night, at least until he could make a trip to the hold to buy his goods.

Entering the dining hall, it was almost completely dark save for a single, dim, glow left open in the far corner of the room. Weaving his way around the tables, he stumbled once or twice, before snatching up the glow and heading into the kitchen to rummage through the stores. Luck must have been on his side that night because it took him only moments to locate the wines. The kitchen staff were no doubt getting annoyed with the missing skins of wine. It was probably only a matter of time before the Weyrleaders were told about the missing goods. In the back of his haze filled mind, Vl’kan made a mental note to order a shipment from Benden to replace all the wine he had taken so far.

So for tonight the garnet rider took only three skins before heading back out into the dining hall. With the glow hanging from one hand and the wine dangling from the other, Vl’kan trudged over to the furthest corner and sat down, setting the glow off to his left. He hadn’t the energy, or the will, to drag himself back up to the riders weyrs. So for now this would be his corner of solitude. Pulling the cap off of the first skin, he took a big mouthful and let his back rest against the wall behind him, letting his eyes drift shut for a brief moment. Besides, it wasn’t as if anyone was awake to possibly disturb him.

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[Seven]

Moments ticked by of sleeplessness. Her thoughts wandered aimlessly and refused to settle. Here she was, in the Weyr her sister had lead. She never would have pictured Iirla a leader. She still couldn't even after she had found out and even now, being here, she couldn't quite believe it. The young mind healer sat up. She had had enough of these thoughts and wanderings. She would head down to the kitchens and hope to find something to snack on... or maybe a good drink. That might help her to pass out.

So she went down the kitchens. Who cared if she stole a skin or two? It was for the Weyr after all. And she lived here. So she went, her hair a mess and her brown eyes locked forward. She was dressed simply enough, meant to keep cool - practical... probably a bit revealing. She was also still barefoot as she kept going. She let her hand trail gently along the wall as she was careful not to trip. The stone felt cool against her hands and against her feet. She looked nearly identical to Iirla... aside from looking healthier and being a bit younger... She was the spitting image of her sister.

She looked with a squint around the room for a glow. Someone else had it... and he had taken it. Well... that was just unhelpful. She'd talk to him later... whoever he was. Right now she wanted that wine... And she did happen to know where it was from having her chores here (it'd taken her a little bit to get out of that and get back to her work in the infirmary). She pulled a skin from amongst the others and walked over to the back corner. She didn't know how well he could see her... but he looked like who Iirla had described as Vl'kan... except... he was definitely just a shadow of the man he used to be. At best. She sat down. "So... drinking away your pain?" she asked him in that voice that was just a bit harder than Iirla's. It didn't have the same gentleness that Iirla's had had, but it sounded so similar. Imiika could have been ehr ghost for all that Vl'kan was concerned... especially being drunk.

[Zero]

He didn’t hear her when she entered the hall but then again he really didn’t give a damn either. No, right now he was lost deep in thought with his elbow propped up on the table and his thumb, index and middle finger resting against the side of his head. The first skin was already more than half gone even as he took another swig, oblivious to anything outside this table. That was until the soft light of the dying glow alerted him to an approaching figure. Look at that. Even in the middle of the damned night he wasn’t going to get any peace.

When she spoke up, he didn’t bother lifting his gaze from the table. He just kept focusing on a heavily chipped area even as he spoke. “Yeah? An’ what shardin’ business of it is yours? All these damn tables to pick from an’ you…and you saunter over here? Got nothin’ better to do than…has-hassle a rider?” His words were slurred and more than once his wild hand gestures sent a splattering of wine to splash against the tabletop.

Finally he lifted his bloodshot gaze to actually take a look at just who decided to crash his little party. What he saw must have been a ghost and he nearly dropped his wine the moment his mind came to that conclusion. “Great. That’s jus’ shardin’ brilliant.” Vl’kan grumbled, turning away from the apparition to grab the rest of the skins. Like hell he was staying here now that the ghosts have decided to come out and torment him.

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[Seven]

Imiika watched him quietly, grateful most of the spatter was on teh table and not on her. She sighed. Well this wasn't going as planned. "Vl'kan. I'm not a ghost. M'names Imiika. Iirla's sister. Mind staying put for a while?" She raised an eyebrow at him and sat down, pulling out her own skin of wine, tilting it back to her mouth and taking a nice long drink before placing it down. "You know... Kiira looks more like you than her mom. You seen her lately?"

The woman watched him, no sign of fear or mistrust, just honest brown eyes looking back at him. "I can hide my face if that will help. Trust me. You're going to need my help here sooner or later." She shrugged and took another drink. Her mind was already working through him, digesting what she knew of him and what she ahd heard. What her sister had told her. He had a lot of pain as well.

Life wasn't easy. His life had never been easy. "I heard you disappeared for near two turns. Shortly after Iirla died... and when you came back, well... you were a raving drunk. You're going to need to drag yourself out of that if you're going to keep control of Thormyth. What horror do you think he's going to unleash if yo ucan't?" She wasn't even trying to be nice.

[Zero]

He stared at her quietly for a long while after she had finished speaking. Then slapping the cork in the near empty skin, he set it aside and slowly folded his arms over his chest. Somewhere in the dark recesses of his mind he felt Thormyth stir. “Her sister, huh?” Vl’kan was glad his head was swimming as bad as it was that not even the dim light from the dying glow could help bring her face into focus. It was probably for the best. “So why are you here? Come to tell me what a bad father I am? What a shitty weyrmate I was for your sister?”

His bloodshot eyes narrowed once she mentioned his Garnet. “Don’t speak of my dragon like you know him. Like you, or anyone, has any idea who he is.” He made a move to stand up, both hands resting heavily against the table for support as he struggled to his feet. Dammit! Why tonight, of all nights, did he have to run out of liquor? “Thormyth is the only thing I have left in this miserable, fucking life I’ve been dealt. He takes care of me, I take care of him. That’s how it always has been and always will be.”

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[Seven]

She took another long swig. "Yeah. Her sister. Youngest sister to be exact." She looked at him for a long time. She shrugged. "Bad father, yes, bad weyrmate. No. Not even close. You were the best thing next to her dragon that ever happened in her life. She wrote about you to me. She always felt like shit because she kept screwing you over. Was stuck in her habits she said.... but she loved you almost as much as Izanycorth." Se was quiet then, thinking of Iirla.

She frowned and shook her head. "I just know what Iirla wrote about him and you. And from teh sound of it, he and Izanycorth could be terrors when they wanted to be.... of course she was the one who killed the bronze. Not Thormyth." She was pushing his buttons... she'd have to be careful. "Good... you've got something. I'm here to take care of Kiira. And to tell you that she needs you."

She took another swig. "That's about it, really. Of course, it's not like expect you to listen to a total stranger."