Finally Gwenn could take it no more. In cahuenga, he exclaimed in exasperation, "Well, beratin' the lass will do her nae good! It looks as though she has a fever, an' ye all again' her!" He moved to Kay as he spoke. "She should be abed, an' I aim tae see that she gets there!" He placed Amadaine in Kay's arms and before she could protest, picked her up, bird and all.
The abrupt motion made Kay's head swim with dizziness. For a moment or two, she thought that she was going to throw up again. But fortunately there was nothing left in her stomach. And the bird-claw tugging at her hair was rather a bit of distraction, as was the sleepy coo-ing she could feel vibrating against her skin.
Gwenn looked a little odd, as short as he was, holding her in his arms as though she were his little sister, but the look on his face discouraged arguement. "By your leave, vai leronis," he said to Katie. He didn't really know if there was a bed nearby she could use, or if he was going to have to carry her all they way to her bed on the Terranan base, but he was determined to get her to one.
"Nae yet!", Kay finally stirred herself enough to protest indignantly, "I ken tha' ye mean well, bredu, but 'tis a need for confessin' that I feel e'en stronger. Ha' patience a few minutes longer .. THEN ye may be a-helpin' me upstairs". She decided that, regardless of whether or not Gwenn agreed to put her down, she'd continue on with what she wanted to say.
Gwenn felt Kay's forehead and cheek. They weren't as warm as he'd expected from her appearance, so he relented. "Well...as long as ye recline an' don't get upset...." He looked around for a place to put Kay where she could lay back rather than sit up . "Ye need to conserve yer strength."
"Stubborn as a Scot indeed", Dani chuckled softly, watching Gwenn and Kay, "and more pride than sense too".
"Och aye ... 'tis guilty of THAT I am .. and much more", Kay agreed, deciding that caheunga was most appropriate for this purpose. At worst, only a few details would be needed to fill things in for Louis later. She knew he'd learned some of it during his work in the clinic, but she wasn't sure how fluent he was. "This whole mess started when I was having dinner with Louis last night. We had an ... ummm .... difference of opinion".
A red blush spreading across her pale face, Kay added, "now that you all know what I am, I suppose it won't make things any worse to admit what it was that I was seeking in town. I'd heard ... rumours .. about the effects of certain kinds of alcohol on the Gift you call 'laran' ... and I thought thst maybe Louis and I would be able to ... ummm .. resolve part of our disputed issue ... if we ... ummm ... could be like the Non-Gifted for awhile".
Gwenn looked sharply at Kay when she said she was having dinner with Louis the night before, and looked as though he would speak, but forced himself to hold his tongue. This was not the place to have a row--not with all these strangers present--about behaving like a decent (unmarried!) woman and having a chaperone if she couldn't get permission from family--him, or at least Melissa(but mostly him!) before-hand. And he didn't want to upset Kay while she was sick. He would simply have to speak to her about it in private when she felt better...he'd also have to remember to ask her what the dispute was about.
"That's stupid! Really, really dangerously stupid !" Louis exclaimed (in Standard) to Kay. Didn't she realize how easily she could have ended up dead ?. He then continued, "This is the craziest thing I've ever heard! You should have told me, you should have ...".
Kay frowned at him and couldn't resist the temptation to interrupt. "I _ALREADY_ agreed 'twas a daft thing to do ! But it seemed like a good idea at the time !", she replied sharply, her Standard falling into the Scots accent of her youth. 'Tis nae as if any o' them kenned my true name ... an' anyways, 'tis certain I am, that even _YOU_ ha' done a few things in YOUR time tha' would ha' gotten ye a few demerits at the very least !".
Gwenn moved protectively behind Kay and glared at Louis when he spoke sharply to Kay. He couldn't understand the words, but it was obvious that Louis was upset with Kay. Gwenn frowned. Were they lovers? Gwenn didn't like that thought; but what if they'd been lovers before Gwenn and Kay took the oath? Would that change etiquette? Gwenn angrily dismissed the thought. Brothers shouldn't think such things of sisters unless it was too obvious to ignore. Besides, he somehow couldn't believe that she'd 'slept' with anyone. He was surprised by Kay's vigorous response, and patted her shoulder to calm her down.
Another thought suddenly occurred to Louis. "_I_ should have asked...", he said, looking down again. "Sorry...please, go on..."
Meanwhile, Ceroill had been standing at the foot of the stair while Kay began to recount most of her tale. So that was what she had been up to. He tried to think if he might have been as reckless in such a situation at that age. For the life of him, he could not decide. Eventually he thought most likely not. Otherwise he would not be what and who he was. A shopkeeper.
"I would most certainly NOT have told you", Kay answered indignantly to Louis, firmly smoothing away her accent in an attempt to control her temper, "You NEVER would have approved of the idea of seeking out a certain rumoured-to-exist local brew whose main ingredient ... pollen from that pretty native flower ... is classified as a 'controlled-substance' ... but it was likely only a false rumour ... I never DID find any of it".
Gwenn didn't know what Kay and Louis were saying, but he didn't like how worked up Kay was getting. "Breda, breda, calmly," he said soothingly, patting her shoulder. "Ye must conserve yer strength. If it's an insult to your honor, tell me and I will fight that battle for ye, for that is my duty as your brother. Otherwise...." Gwenn trailed off; he didn't know what to do if they were having a lover's spat. Once again, he angrily turned his thoughts away from that idea.
"Gwenn !", Kay protested, with a frown, "if you mean what I THINK you mean, forget it ! I've never been THAT to ANYONE; not EVER. THAT is both my OWN private business and my OWN choice !! And this is NOT a matter to be fought over. It's just a private argument between friends. And I was simply expressing my opinion that he had no right to scold me. I'm a grown woman and it's FRIENDSHIP that ties he and I together; NOT any kin-bond of either blood or oath".
"If ye cannae calm down, the others will ha' tae go," he said firmly, "exceptin' yer sister an', an' apprentice, o' course," he added quickly, glancing at each in turn.
Anwyn had been watching with a mixture of curiousity and dismay. They had been arguing when she'd gone upstairs to pass on the message to Mestru Merrick. Now here they were STILL at it. "I think that you all should let Kay finish her story", she insisted loudly and firmly enough to catch everyone's attention, "THEN she'll agree to go have a nap. There's nobody more stubborn than us Scots ... and few things more time-consuming than TWO Scots having an argument that neither one is likely to win. And you're just going to tire her out even MORE if you continue to argue with her", she pointed out.
Gwenn was relieved that Kay hadn't slept with the Terranan, but dismayed that she had misunderstood him. He blushed lightly, and then glared at Anwyn. Didn't this girl know when to keep her nose out of family business?
Anwyn pretended she didn't notice. Afterall, he was ONLY a boy, afterall. Why should SHE care what HE thought ?
Dani tried to repress a giggle. There were many things that she was tempted to say. But there were far too many tired people and frayed tempers in this room already. She didn't want to be the one to set off any more arguments.