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[G] [C] 742.02.04 | A Visit Home - Printable Version

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742.02.04 | A Visit Home - L'ri - 05.Feb.21

"And here we are! Home, sweet home!" Gangleri threw open the door with extra dramatic flair, Fret flying into the main room to quickly check all of his favorite perches and napping spots to make sure they hadn't been trifled with while he was away. He rooted around the book shelves, checked behind and under the couches, and finally landed on the back of an arm chair, settling in on a dent that was clearly his size as he gave a satisfied little chirp.

There was a stirring from down the hall and a younger man, scruffy but with a sadly patchy beard that was still fighting to grow in, walked out. "Leeri! I thought you wouldn't be in until later or I would have had some food ready."

Gangleri grinned as he pulled his younger brother into a tight, squeezing hug and then ruffled his hair. "Oh it's fine. Quil, this is my younger brother Geric, Geric, this is Quilriana, she is a lady and you will treat her as such. Now get her bags and get her settled in the main bedroom." What good were younger siblings for if not for assigning menial tasks? His younger brother quickly gave Quil a friendly greeting before going to grab both of their bags. Gangleri quickly added, "Just put mine in the spare room."

Geric paused to stammer, "But... where will I sleep?"

"The couch is comfortable enough, we won't be here for too long." Gangleri gave him a dismissive wave before turning his attention back to his guest. "Don't mind my brother, the couch is an excellent place to sleep, I've spent my share of time there to know. Anyway, let me give you the tour." He pulled her away to show off his home, giving her a quick tour of the layout, pointing out bedrooms, bathrooms, the kitchen, and finally stopping once he reached his little haven.

His office was full of books, stacks of questionably organized papers, and instruments in various states of repair. He flopped down onto the well worn couch by the fireplace with a groan. "Hopefully Geric hasn't moved to many things around in here or I may never figure out where I left off. How do you like it? Think it will be comfortable enough while we wait for the Hatching?"


RE: 742.02.04 | A Visit Home - Quilriana - 06.Feb.21

Quilriana sat down on the couch as well, eyes still sweeping around the room, taking it all in. This was by far the most lived in room but what she knew of Gangleri and had been told of his brother--that made sense. “Your home is lovely and it will be more than comfortable. You’ve seen the room I call home after all.” It was a small room but she didn’t need much. Being back in a proper home once more was almost overwhelming if she wanted to be honest. Having rooms for specific reasons was a novel concept to her after a decade living in the tavern but she knew she would take her time to quietly explore each room at a later time.

“And now that we’re alone—I didn’t want to embarrass you in front of your brother—neither of you need to move rooms. I’ll be fine on the couch. This one is already quite comfortable and right near a cozy fire. What more could I ask for?” She didn’t need special treatment because she was a guest. It was already a kindness Gangleri was extending to allow her into his home and get her to take a break for more than an afternoon. However, she suspected that part of the reason he was giving up the main bedroom to her was due to memories. Had he been back since his wife died?

“I’m also staying firm on the condition that I do the cooking while we’re here. I’m not letting you take away the one thing I can offer as a thank you for this trip.” She held his gaze, challenging him to try and stop her. She hadn’t seen any drudges on the tour but that didn’t mean they didn’t have at least one for cooking and cleaning but Quilriana didn’t care. She could cook and bake and damn it that was what she would do.


RE: 742.02.04 | A Visit Home - L'ri - 06.Feb.21

Gangleri smiled at her concern but shook his head. "You don't have to worry, you can have my room, I should just make sure it's not dusty, and if you really want I'll take the couch instead and he can keep the spare room. And you deserve a nice large bed to sprawl in. Enjoy yourself, and if you like it, then I can try to arrange for you to spend more time here. It would be easier to see your children this way after all."

Her steely gaze and demand that she do all the cooking made him chuckle though. "Fine, you can cook as much as you would like. Though you should probably make sure that Geric knows. He mentioned in his last letter that he was trying to learn some new recipe, so I'm sure he'll try to test it out on us if you let him. He does okay normally, I try to encourage him."

After another look around the room he added, "At least he's been taking care of the place well enough on his own. It's been months since I was last here, though I might come back to do more work in the Hall again soon." Gangleri wasn't sure he wanted to come back to the house just to continue his work, but it was something to focus on. Though it would be nicer to have good company...

He shook his head at the thought. He'd at least wait and see how Quilriana liked it there before he would ask anything. "So, I don't know if you've ever been to Fort Hold, was there anything you wanted to do while we wait for the Hatching? I could give you a tour, show you around, take you somewhere. Or you can just stay and read and listen to music. I'd offer to let you take Bart out on a ride, but he is tragically still freezing."


RE: 742.02.04 | A Visit Home - Quilriana - 07.Feb.21

“If you think your old bones can still handle the couch, that might be nice of you to offer,” Quilriana smiled serenely at her friend. She was a handful of months older than but he liked to gripe about getting old and she couldn’t help but tease him once in a while about it. But she also was already taking a shining to the brother and wanted to make sure he didn’t feel put out by her arrival—which only added to her teasing. “Although, if the bed is truly so large, I suppose I can share it with Geric and you can have the spare bed after all.”

Learning that Geric was learning to cook surprisingly put her at ease and released some tension Quilriana wasn’t aware she was carrying. “I would love to try his cooking and I would love his help in the kitchen if he’s eager to learn. It’s been a while since I’ve taught someone and I admit to kind of missing it.” She was excited to learn more about the little brother and wanted to make sure he didn’t feel replaced or left out with her being there or Gangleri vanishing for months at a time.

“We can go for walks when the mood strikes but I’ll be fine staying around the house. As you kept on insisting, this is a vacation and I should be resting and enjoying myself. So I’ll try my hand at doing nothing for a bit.” That sounded horrible, honestly, but she was willing to give it a try for a few days before growing restless.


RE: 742.02.04 | A Visit Home - L'ri - 07.Feb.21

He couldn't help but laugh when she brought up the idea of sharing the bed with his little brother. "He wouldn't know what to do with himself! You shouldn't torment him like that, he's having a rough enough time trying to figure his life out, much less find a lady of his own to spend time with." Gangleri paused to scratch at his chin for a moment as he thought. "Or maybe it would be a good learning experience... either way, let me know if I need to scold him for misbehaving."

Geric was normally not that big of a screw up though, so Gangleri wasn't too worried. If anything his younger brother usually tried too hard and took too much time being uncertain to make any real progress with anything. At least he would soon be able to see if his idea of getting Geric out of the Hall and their parents' house and into a space where he could try to be alone and be himself had helped any.

"Oh? I'll be sure to let him know. He would love to help out, I bet." Gangleri grinned at Quil's offer, happy to see that she was interested in helping out his baby brother. Just one more reason for her to firmly remain entrenched in her position as his best and favorite bartender. "I'll let him know he can keep his room and that you're interested in his cooking, I'm sure both of those will make his day. And if you want to teach him something and we don't have the ingredients just let me know and I'll run out to fetch them for you. Unless you wanted to go with to have something to do and a chance to look around. And if you wanted a trip to the Weyr to visit your son early, I can figure that out too. K'dar still owes me a few rides from the last batch of books I got him."


RE: 742.02.04 | A Visit Home - Quilriana - 08.Feb.21

"Gangleri," Quilriana laid a hand on his arm, "stop. I appreciate you wanting to be a good host but stop fretting and thinking of every option available and idea we could do." It was sweet of him to want to make sure she was comfortable and wouldn't grow bored or regret agreeing to the trip, but it wasn't needed. She was happy to be there and to experience time off and away from life. Insisting on cooking was partly so she still felt like she was doing something, some guilt at not being at the tavern eating at her.

"This is your home and your time to rest as well. Although if you pick on your brother too much..." she left the threat open-ended, knowing he would have fun filling it in with creative ideas and that she wasn't serious.

She gave his arm a squeeze a moment later and softened her smile when she realised something. "We can go for a daily stroll, if you'd like. We don't need to stay in all the time." Quilriana knew the death of his wife wasn't what ate at him constantly but being home still held a lot of memories that Gangleri wouldn't want suffocating him. She didn't want to replace the happy ones he held but perhaps the three of them could work on adding to them while she was there to make his visits home easier.


RE: 742.02.04 | A Visit Home - L'ri - 09.Feb.21

The gentle touch had Gangleri fall silent for a moment as he briefly wondered if he'd ever felt anything half as comforting in his house before. His late wife had certainly been willing to touch him, usually seductive attempts to regain his favor after some fight, or a display of affection that never felt honest whenever relatives were visiting, but never anything comforting. He supposed it had been quite some time since he'd last tried to comfort her as well though, before he'd given up. It was such a novel and refreshing gesture that he didn't even mind that his favorite bartender was trying to stop him from spoiling her.

The threat made him laugh though and Gangleri shook his head, "Ah, well I suppose I should try to pamper him then; make sure that the both of you are comfortable and relaxing. I could play music if that would keep you from exacting your cruel vengeance. Try as you might, I will find some way to pamper you, Quil. Dark and evil villainous queens deserve no less."

He reached over to give her hand a squeeze in return, considering her offer. "I'm having more fun right now trying to think of other ways to irritate you. Perhaps I could offer you a massage, act as your personal valet or butler for the rest of your stay here. Honestly I find it quite refreshing to have you here. It... adds a bit of life and brightness back to this place. You don't have to indulge me with a walk if you don't want. But if I do decide to wander off I'll let you know in case you want to come along."


RE: 742.02.04 | A Visit Home - Quilriana - 09.Feb.21

"And I will take great joy in your reaction when I tell you I enjoy the massages and be waited on constantly and make you my eternal minion of such things." Quilriana quipped back, glad that Gangerli had stopped fussing about her and was able to get back to his usual comments and humour.

She still worried about the gloom that wanted to settle in over her friend but that wasn't something that could be fixed in an hour or possibly even a week. But she would make sure Gangleri enjoyed the trip as much as she hoped to. But they couldn't do that on empty stomachs and Quilriana got to her feet.

"How about I make us a light midday meal? We can see what stock we have and plan for dinner and a shopping trip tomorrow if needed." A good meal was always key in many plans. Political ploys, seduction, announcements, and getting to know someone. She hoped to learn more about Geric and include him in her visit as much as he wanted and befriend him. This home was in need of laughter and she hoped to fill it with such while she was there.


RE: 742.02.04 | A Visit Home - L'ri - 09.Feb.21

"Ah curses, this was clearly a part of your plot all along, tricking me into volunteering to be your slave." Gangleri laughed and cracked his knuckles as he thought over the idea of a massage, both giving one and receiving one. "If you do want a massage let me know and maybe we can trade. I'll massage wherever you'd like in exchange for a shoulder rub."

Bringing Quilriana here had been a good idea, it was the most he'd laughed in his own house in far too long. He smiled as she stood up and offered to make them something and nodded. "That sounds delightful, you truly are a benevolent Queen of Darkness. I will go fetch my brother and let him know he can keep his room under the power of your grace and generosity."

Gangleri lazily stood and made his way to the spare room where Geric was frantically trying to straighten up, making the bed while he had a pile of clothes tossed on a chair. "Well, at least you left the rest of the house in better shape. Would you like some help?"

After some nervous babbling Geric nodded and the two of them got to work straightening everything out and sorting through his clothes, folding and hanging everything that was clean and putting everything that needed to be washed in a basket. Gangleri set his hands on his hips as he looked around and nodded in satisfaction. Much better. Now that room looked less like a disaster, he grabbed his bag and shouldered it before walking out, humming to himself as his brother squawked in confusion behind him.

"Oh don't worry. Quilriana insisted that you keep your room, and since she is truly as villainous as she is lovely, I have no choice but to obey. Besides, I do miss my couch."

"But... then why did I clean?"

Gangleri grinned and slapped his brother on the back. "Because you're a good man, you deserve to live in a nice room. Now come on, Quilriana is making us a meal. She's interested in your cooking and might even teach you a few things if you're a good minion." He resisted the urge to laugh as Geric's face went from excitement to a confused frown.