29.Jun.22, 10:25 PM
Geric stared up at the sky in the closest field to his brother's home, his heart pounding so hard he could barely hear anything else. What the fuck was wrong with him? Why couldn't he react to things like his brother? Rationally he knew he could have just offered to at least be there for Yvandria and the baby. He could have even made a bid to marry her. Her father would likely have been enraged, but his would have been delighted. But no, he was too much of a coward to deal with her emotions and feelings, much less her parents. He hadn't even given her his real name!
Even if he wanted to try and salvage his current situation and have a family, he honestly still had no idea what he wanted at all, it felt like it was too late. He'd lied, he'd lied again and run, and because all of that his son was named Yvangerlis after his brother. He wasn't going to be able to keep this a secret without doing something drastic that he didn't think he had the stomach for. Not when she lived in the same Hold, not when she came from a wealthy family, and especially not when he'd been an idiot and used his brother's name as an alias. His Master Harper brother. This was going to blow up into an enormous scandal, and he was going to ruin his brother's life again, or maybe even his career.
Maybe he would be the first man in his family to die of a heart attack. The fact that his brother was over the moon with his wife's recent news only made Geric feel worse. Why couldn't he have reacted like that? Why couldn't he have felt joy and eagerness instead of dread and panic? And then he'd thought about how much worse a scandal would be for a married man with a family than a single younger brother and that had made him almost dizzy with distress. So when someone had mentioned Quilriana's son was coming to visit, he volunteered to go wait in the field for him in order to just get out and try and clear his head.
He wasn't sure it had worked though since his stomach was still a nervous tangle of knots, even as he saw the golden yellow of Dalsuth's belly bordered in bright blue come into view overhead and start circling for a descent. Geric closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. At least he was momentarily distracted as he realized he'd forgotten Quinnie's new name. He liked Quil's son, they got along decently enough the few times they'd interacted before, and now he just felt like an ass for forgetting his new honorific. Normally he was good with names and remembering things, but he'd been so frazzled and distracted since learning his infant son's name that he'd been dropping the ball on a lot of small things lately.
As the dragon landed Geric finally pushed himself up so he could walk over and greet the pair and at least pretend he was a decent enough host. "Hi! It's good to see you both!" Except he knew his face was too tight, so he sighed and rubbed his neck, using the excuse of forgetting the name to try and distract from his other worries. "Sorry, Quinnie, I know you're not N'lis anymore, but I can't remember what they said your new name was. I'm the worst uncle." It was a feeble attempt at humor, but at least he'd tried for it. "How have you two been?"
Even if he wanted to try and salvage his current situation and have a family, he honestly still had no idea what he wanted at all, it felt like it was too late. He'd lied, he'd lied again and run, and because all of that his son was named Yvangerlis after his brother. He wasn't going to be able to keep this a secret without doing something drastic that he didn't think he had the stomach for. Not when she lived in the same Hold, not when she came from a wealthy family, and especially not when he'd been an idiot and used his brother's name as an alias. His Master Harper brother. This was going to blow up into an enormous scandal, and he was going to ruin his brother's life again, or maybe even his career.
Maybe he would be the first man in his family to die of a heart attack. The fact that his brother was over the moon with his wife's recent news only made Geric feel worse. Why couldn't he have reacted like that? Why couldn't he have felt joy and eagerness instead of dread and panic? And then he'd thought about how much worse a scandal would be for a married man with a family than a single younger brother and that had made him almost dizzy with distress. So when someone had mentioned Quilriana's son was coming to visit, he volunteered to go wait in the field for him in order to just get out and try and clear his head.
He wasn't sure it had worked though since his stomach was still a nervous tangle of knots, even as he saw the golden yellow of Dalsuth's belly bordered in bright blue come into view overhead and start circling for a descent. Geric closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. At least he was momentarily distracted as he realized he'd forgotten Quinnie's new name. He liked Quil's son, they got along decently enough the few times they'd interacted before, and now he just felt like an ass for forgetting his new honorific. Normally he was good with names and remembering things, but he'd been so frazzled and distracted since learning his infant son's name that he'd been dropping the ball on a lot of small things lately.
As the dragon landed Geric finally pushed himself up so he could walk over and greet the pair and at least pretend he was a decent enough host. "Hi! It's good to see you both!" Except he knew his face was too tight, so he sighed and rubbed his neck, using the excuse of forgetting the name to try and distract from his other worries. "Sorry, Quinnie, I know you're not N'lis anymore, but I can't remember what they said your new name was. I'm the worst uncle." It was a feeble attempt at humor, but at least he'd tried for it. "How have you two been?"