Missing Pieces (Genet & Silvio)

[Omnia Munda]

J'fel had decided before Silvio ever existed in his world that he didn't like the guy. He was Caminar; it was a foregone conclusion. Yet they shared a common interest - Aleda - and his freshly-tidied weyr, so the weyrleader enjoyed being sociable all the same. He was, after all, winning the conversation - and he had no qualms about getting his kicks doing it.

"The group is charged to look after one another," he told Silvio, still cool through a smile, quite calm. He got up from his chair and retrieved his cider from the sidetable, moving slowly as though to prove his lack of hurry about Aleda and the others gone missing. "My men have some honor, Silvio. If harm came to her they'd be obliged to see her cared for - or in the worst case return with word. I have every reason to believe she's simply doing her spirited best to contribute to their mission." He was not making any effort to prevent a certain leering fondness from emphasizing certain words when he spoke to the Caminar man; 'spirited' took on this tone.

"If the Caminar need healers, they may avail themselves of the Weyr's infirmary." This said, J'fel came back to the hearthside with his cider in hand, taking a sip before settling back into the wooden chair. Genet was the recipient of a nobly patient smile. "I am trying to stop gossip about one thing, and suffering willingly gossip about another, Genet. I'll find out whether I've proven anything when your sister and brother return."

That last had been directed to them both, of course, to assure them that what they had in common had not escaped him. Nor had his silent refusal to answer the most leading of their questions: "If I share with you the general sense of what they're bound to do, will the both of you swear in advance your secrecy? I would rather you send further questions to me - " A twist of wry smile said, 'as tiresome as I find them.' - "Than worry about who knows things that might endanger their results."

[Alsivor]

J'fel was definitely a weirdo of the first degree. Why did he look like he was getting all the cream and just lapping it up? Maybe he was touched in the head. Not that Silvio really begrudged the man being into a pretty girl, but really. /Spirited/? That was the best he could come up with for Aleda. The Weyrleader definitely left a bad taste in Silvio's mouth.

"That is reassuring," Silvio replied dutifully to the Weyrleader's statement about the group. He was more inclined to believe Genet about her brother than J'fel about anyone else in the group. "That's very generous, sir, but Aleda is not so easily replaced, and I think perhaps that Caminar and a Weyr's healer would not be ... a good fit," he said carefully though the idea settled uneasily in his mind, that maybe Milo /should/ be seeing someone and with Aleda gone, he'd have to seek out one of the other Caminar healers anyway. Maybe going to the Weyr's healer in Aleda's absence wasn't such a bad idea.

He took another drink from his glass, quelling the desire again, to tell Genet that she was pushing too hard and latched onto the Weyrleader's last instead. Silvio had no qualms about barefaced lying in this situation. Of course his father would be hearing at least a version of this.
"Certainly sir, I can swear to that." Now to hear what he had to say. Even if it was just a general sense.

[Invisible]

What Silvio didn’t know was that this was Genet’s definition of not pushing too hard. She wasn’t used to dealing with people in positions of authority and had a hard time sorting out what she should and shouldn’t say. Well, she shouldn’t be saying hardly anything, but she wasn’t going to be ignored since this was her meeting to begin with.

It was the tone, she decided, of the weyrleader that made her want to punch him. He was so…sly. He sounded like the holdless men her family would occasionally see helping bring in a crop that had been unexpectedly large. Their comments would often make her skin crawl and it was the same with J’fel. Implying everything in all his words was too much and she bit down on her tongue again. It did not help a mumbled, “Stop thinking with your nether parts,” to escape but it did at least keep her from saying it too loudly or directly glaring at the young weyrleader as she said it. How was she supposed to respect this man when all he seemed to care about was what woman he’d be bedding next?

“If you’ll actually tell us something I’ll be quiet about it,” Genet said easily. She had no one to share this with anyway. None of her friends had been that long enough to overly care about her situation and her family needn’t know. After all, telling them would involve speaking to them and she had no desire to do that. The hazel-eyed woman doubted they’d hear anything worth telling anyway. In her mind J’fel couldn’t be counted on to tell the truth. But he didn’t have to know that for sure.

[Omnia Munda]

"I don't mean to imply that a Weyr's healer is a good fit for the Caminar," said J'fel, quite seriously, to Silvio. He shrugged. "I only mean that if your people have need that your own - healers - cannot address, or if the loss of one healer on other duties is causing a backup, that our infirmary may be able to help. I would offer you a troop of sabedoria if I had them." The seriousness gave way to a grin and again the young weyrleader shrugged.

He took a sidelong look at Genet. He'd heard what she said under her breath, and all he gave her for reply was the curl of the corner of his mouth, delighted, and the glimmer of promise in his eyes. Promise or threat. She'd played him a fool and in truth, J'fel didn't mind - it made her all the more alluring.

He had repayment in mind.

For now, however, satiating the siblings' curiosity was J'fel's top priority. He turned sideways and leaned back in the chair as much as its sparing construction would allow, and hitched his elbow up over the seatback, cider hanging in his hand. "Aleda and G'tet are on a team assigned to investigate the rash of kidnappings our territory's seen this turn."

He held up a hand, a suddenly stern-beyond-his-age look focused keen upon Silvio, as though he knew there'd be an objection immediate from that quarter. "And before you jump to conclusions, remember that if I needed the Caminar investigated, at this point I could do it within the walls of my own Weyr. There's a reason she and the wingsecond were both assigned."

The staying hand went down, permitting questions. Lackadaisical as his posture was, his expression had become quite solemn.

[Alsivor]

Silvio reminded himself that he was a guest in the Weyr. That he was in the Weyrleader's personal quarters and that leaping up and smashing his fist into the other man's face was not likely to gain him anything. Nor was getting insulted by what the Weyrleader was implying. He swallowed the angry retort that most Caminar wouldn't even /go/ to see a standard healer. They wouldn't trust anything that was said of course. It didn't get him anywhere in the quest to find out more about Aleda.

The Caminar drank deeply from his glass, eyeing that sidelong look of the Weyrleader's towards Genet. He felt his skin crawl a little at the way the man kept smirking in such a self-satisfied way at the plantado girl. A flash of guilt too, curled in his stomach. Had he ever looked at a girl that way? Had his own flirtations ever been less-than-honest? He fervently hoped that he was never so slimy with the women he'd courted for a night or two.

And then the Weyrleader said something serious, very serious and Silvio's mind briefly went blank. The kidnappings. That would certainly appeal to his sister's sense of wrong and right. And it was certainly important enough that she would have thrown up a smoke screen to their father about it. Suddenly, Silvio felt very proud of his sister. If she and this greenrider found out what was really going on, the Caminar would be cleared! They could leave the Weyr and this rooted, plantado existence far behind all the sooner.

Silvio eyed the Weyrleader's upheld hand askance. What was that all about? And then there it was. The pseudo-threat in the other man's words and the Caminar's hand tightened on his glass. Maybe throwing his drink in J'fel's face wouldn't -- no, no, no. Don't lose your temper. He couldn't be sure if the weyrleader was telling the truth or not, but he knew his sister well enough that it made a lot of sense. So he accepted the explanation and all he said was:

"It is a very honorable thing that my sister is doing for all of our people. Weyr and Caminar alike." And made much of trying to look relieved and pleased.

[Invisible]

There was something about the whole situation that made Genet want to run off. There was J’fel looking at her like that. It’s not like she did not know what he wanted, but she had no desire to give it to him. If she had then she would have just done it and gotten the information she wanted that way. Genet believed there was no way to get that point across to him. He probably thought all women wanted him and since she doubted many, if any, said no he would have no reason to think otherwise. Well, she thought, he is in for a surprise because she would not go to his bed. This resolution set in her mind with ease and if it set her features into something equally resolute looking so much the better.

It beat looking like she wanted to hit the weyrleader or run away from his advances. She did not even look at J’fel as he spoke. Instead she found a neutral spot somewhere between the two men and gave it her attention. Oh, she still heard his words and there was no masking the surprise when he explained the mission. It sounded like something G’tet would do. But she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was not right. But it sounded plausible.

Genet looked at Silvio to see what he thought of it. His words matched his expression and he seemed to believe what the weyrleader told him. It sounded reasonable and…she couldn’t figure out what it was. Maybe that J’fel would do something good or noble. He was neither of those things and it didn’t set in her stomach that he would be doing this. Maybe it was the weyrwoman’s idea? She didn’t know much about Aderes. The fact she seemed to like J’fel was not points in her favor but maybe there was some weird dragon thing going on. Genet didn’t understand what might affect a person the way a dragon supposedly did. “Why do you care?” she heard and a second later was horrified to realize she had said it. Convinced G’tet would return and find her sent home in dishonor she had the grace to turn red and look down at her cider. She just hoped she'd have time to apologize to Silvio before being sent home. He was likely regretting her help deeply.

[Omnia Munda]

Suppressed as it was, Silvio's rage at what was, from J'fel, only an effort to be respectful remained unknown to the weyrleader. Just as well: confusion was not so becoming as smugness on his youthful features. Cider wouldn't have been much better.

"Exactly," he told Silvio, and to his (ever diminishing) credit, the weyrleader sounded less self-satisfied than he did relieved in his own right, grateful that at least one of his guests understood.

Genet, of course, did not. He looked at her with a furrowed brow shadowing his darling eyes, and after a moment blinked rapidly as though if he cleared his vision, what he'd heard would make better sense. "About missing children?" The question contained no small amount of disbelief.

"If you think I'm callous enough not to care about people who've lost little babies, sisters and brothers, then why did you think I'd even talk to you in the first place?"

It was a little more pointed, a little less polished, than J'fel would have liked it. Aderes would not have been proud. The weyrleader drank cider to cool his throat and heels, then let out what he thought to be an elegant sigh and gestured with his ever more empty glass. "I apologize, Genet. There's a great deal at stake upon this investigation and I care about it on more levels than I can even explain."

He shared around his gaze, taking in Aleda's brother as well as G'tet's sister, his expression almost sad and strangely tired. With less than half a turn's time beneath the weyrleader's knot, the weight rarely showed; J'fel was spirited in his own right, and took excess joy in the privileges those cords and threads bought him. Nevertheless, the weight showed now. "I do appreciate your concern," he said, oddly softly. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

[Alsivor]

Keeping his temper in check still, Silvio lifted his glass again and drank the last of the liquid within it down. He didn't say a word as the Weyrleader mentioned his lack of relative callousness. By now, Silvio was having a hard time accepting that the man was sincere about anything and his skin was crawling. He'd been inside heavy stone for too long and wanted to get /out/. The Caminar leaned over and set his glass down, pushed to his feet and paced a little way toward the hearth.

J'fel was still speaking to Genet, but he was barely hearing the words. Only their tone and something about what he was saying about the investigation did register as being heartfelt. This whole exercise had been pointless really and Silvio felt a deep urge to just /leave/ but he wasn't going to leave Genet behind to the Weyrleader's tender mercies. Swinging around he came back to the chair he'd just abandoned and leaned against it with forced casualness, head shaking. "I believe I am satisfied, Weyrleader," he said simply. "Thank you." And slid his eyes over to Genet to see what she might blurt out next. Though he'd hoped for more tact from the young woman, he found the corner of his mouth curling into an involuntary smile, thinking about the way she just spoke her mind. Maybe it reminded him of Aleda a little.

[Invisible]

There were words she wanted to say badly, but kept suppressed. Still, J’fel asked a question and they both knew the answer. All three of them knew exactly why J’fel had agreed to speak to her. How dare he now act like it had been some magnanimous gesture on his part? Holding her tongue was no longer an option even though Genet knew it did not help their cause. “You agreed to a meeting because-“ Because she’d tricked him. But the words were not coming out. She had the grace to look down once more aware of her own duplicity.

Still inwardly she seethed. How could she have been blind? When he had spoken there was a moment where she felt guilty for thinking him heartless. Then it dawned on her that the only reason he would care about children would be if there were some pretty mother or sister involved and he were trying to score points with her to get her into bed. Whatever guilt there was fled at that realization and she was able to look upon the weyrleader with a clear mind again. When Silvio stood she thought he would just leave and there was a moment where she panicked at having put trust in a Caminar to keep her safe. Sure they did not seem as bad as some claimed, but she still knew to him she was an outsider. Maybe he would abandon her.

He did not and she suppressed her sigh of relief. Left alone with the weyrleader was not something she desired. She knew what people thought about one’s duty to the Weyr and likely no one would understand her desire to remain out of the weyrleader’s clutches. Handsome and charming he might be, but it all seemed shallow. The only thing she could do was rise to her feet. “Thank you for seeing us.” Genet would not claim satisfaction with the conversation because she had none. But a polite thank you was not so hard to muster.

[Omnia Munda]

Demure behavior came to Genet too late; J'fel's words stepped in as Silvio stepped away, finishing what the girl might have said. "I agreed to a meeting because you offered one, yes." Tired as he might seem, the young weyrleader found energy enough for a wan smile. "Should I have sent you both away at the door?"

J'fel set aside his glass and rose, the last of the three to do so, and offered Genet his hand. He had planned to dismiss the Caminar and speak to the girl alone, but the realization that the contriteness of her letter was entirely fabricated - not only an excuse - left him cold. He'd relied far too much on the power of his position to change the nature of the woman, he knew.

Knot or not, he thought, turning with a dip of his head so that the former candidate might see that he intended to walk her out like a gentleman. Most girls are still bitches.

What he said aloud was prettier. "Next time," came his warm and weary murmur, with a glance that encompassed Silvio, too, "Just ask."

The hand not waiting for Genet's made a courteous offer of the exit.

[Alsivor]

Again, the Weyrleader's voice set Silvio on edge. He was definitely going to tell his father that they needed to clear out as soon as humanly possible, no matter how pleasant some of the company at the Weyr might sometimes be.

The Caminar moved to offer Genet his arm as things seemed to be coming to an end only to be pre-empted by the Weyrleader. "A pleasant day to you, sir," is all that Silvio could come up with and he lingered, waiting on the lady in the room to make the first move out.

[Invisible]

It would have been proper for Genet to take the hand offered her by the Weyrleader. Or perhaps to expect Silvio to offer his arm as he had when they stepped inside. But that both might be thinking the same thing, in that tiny way at least, left her standing a moment unable to determine what to do. Rather than slight one or the other she gently shook her head and headed for the door under her own power. To soften the blow she found from somewhere a cheery smile for both men. “Don’t make me choose. It’s too much for someone like me to even consider.”

Hopefully that would keep either Weyrleader or Caminar from taking offense at her own initiative. The meeting could have gone worse, but Genet could only think of catastrophic examples of such wrongness. She just wanted out of there and to go curl up on her cot and pretend she was anywhere else. No, tonight she would make her way to G’tet’s weyr. She could get some peace there and consider her next move. She just hoped it wasn’t a move back home. With that thought to worry at her mind she sailed out of the exit to wait for Silvio in the hall. Best to escort him back to the wagons she knew. For his own safety.

[Omnia Munda]

J'fel did something he would have never done had he been any longer intent on seduction: roll his eyes at Genet's remark. It was brief, barely more than a glance at the ceiling, and the remaining crook of tired smile on his mouth made it seem good-natured enough.

But there was nothing else to be done save farewells. "And to you," he said to the Caminar, unable to entirely keep a trace of irony from his voice, and then he waited for Silvio to follow Genet out. The weyrleader himself would follow too, so he might close the door behind them both.

[Alsivor]

Silvio's smile flashed in his face as Genet turned both offers down. Good for her. Though he had a hard time not laughing at the reply, good-natured humor was all that made it into his eyes as he followed her out.

The Weyrleader only got a nod as he crossed the threshold. When the door shut behind them he walked on a little in silence then couldn't help the wry assessment: "That was ... interesting." And he offered Genet his arm again. "May I walk you ... somewhere?" the second hesitation suddenly showed up the fact that the Caminar had no idea where the young woman lived.

[Invisible]

The roll of his eyes earned J’fel a true smile from Genet. Shaking her head she didn’t bother explaining. If he were less intent on seduction, she thought, he might be fun to hang out with. Not that he’d ever be thinking of anything but getting someone into bed. A shame, but nothing could be done for it. There was no looking back or last farewell once she was in the hallway. She just waited quietly for Silvio.

In the hallway Genet took the arm offered to her and rolled her own eyes. “That was a waste of time. I’m sorry. I truly thought he might answer questions and it seems…I don’t know. It just seems odd he would care about something that did not directly make his life less comfortable.” Her opinion of the weyrleader wasn’t going to sink much lower at this point. As for walking her somewhere she let out a quiet laugh. “I thought to walk you back across the bowl. In case someone got any stupid ideas if they spied a lone Caminar in the dark.”