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 Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2009 5:39 pm
This was not exactly how he wanted his morning to go.
It was quite some time ago K’em had kicked dear Cordel’s door right down. He’d been sentenced to a visit to the mind-healer shortly after, but it was worth it. So worth it. Kicking that door down had given him such a thrill, Faranth. He still got a jolt just thinking about the sharp crack and the sudden give. Oh, man. And it wasn’t like the brownrider ever intended to follow through with that whole mind-healer nonsense. He wasn’t actually mentally unwell, Cordel was just being a sore loser.
Of course, K’em hadn’t expected for them to actually enforce an appointment.
So he was standing outside the door. It wasn’t like she could sense him through the door. Maybe if he knocked reeeeally quietly, he could claim no one heard him and he’d be free to slither off to breakfast. Actually, the brunette decided, that sounded like a lovely plan. He could use a morning free! Actually, maybe he could-
Mine, this behavior is unacceptable. Knock on the door.
But I don’t-
Knock on the door.
K’em knocked on the door, wondering only very briefly if he should kick it down. No, that would probably not go well. Waiting only the briefest moment, the dragonrider began to turn away. Well, no answer! Time to go!
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Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2009 8:20 pm
Roka was busy at her desk sorting through a number of handwritten files about various patients when she heard the knock. --Tap, actually, would be more appropriate. It was becoming a tad overwhelming to keep track of all these people. She barely knew them all by name anymore, and remembering which mental problem went with who was a chore. Having a definite memory came standard with her personality. But that same makeup is what held her back in her field. She was tailored to do this job, not born for it. Her patients kept reminding her of that.
Speaking of, crazed brownrider incoming. It was always the bronzes and browns that gave her the most trouble, she thought. Maybe because they were always ridden by men. Roka was in the opinion there were more mildly insane men and fewer, but more intense insane women. And, same as before, they just kept proving her right. But who knew? Maybe this one would break the cycle. Prove her wrong for once.
--Ha.
"And hello to you," Roka said and swung the door open. She would have liked to wear something less revealing than this green outfit of hers while she was on the job, but thanks to a certain someone, everything else she had was temporarily inaccessible. So--Wait. Was he walking away? Oh, great. One of those people. "First timer, I presume. I apologize for taking so long to answer the door." Only not. Impatient moron. "Why don't you come in and have a seat?"
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Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2009 8:52 pm
Shaaaards.
Inhaling deeply, K'em whirled around on his heel and plastered his most charming smile on. Smile and nod, and the whole thing would be over soon. It was liking dealing with that awkward morning after, he prompted himself, with the clingy girl who just didn't want to let go. She would as well, eventually, this was simply a test of his endurance. Right.
Flipping his hair away from his eyes, the Wingsecond sauntered right over (not without noticing the pretty little outfit she had on; were professionals allowed to dress like that?) and nodded to Roka. "K'em I am! I guess my reputation preceeds me!" Charming, dashing, good in the furs? Yes, he was all of those, he thought to himself, ego already on the rebound as he beamed and let himself into the office. Weyr. Torture chamber.
"Sorry about taking your time up like this," the brownrider went on upon taking a seat. "I'm quite sure there's nothing wrong with my head." Aside from the broken nose, but that was a Cordel problem, not a mind-healer problem. The cause might be, but Ista would frost over before he discussed that! "This is just a nasty joke. You know, getting me from behind, and what not."
There was a long pause.
"Anyone ever tell you how well you wear that dress? Really brings out your eyes."
Yeah. Eyes. That's what K'em was stealing glances at. Her eyes.
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Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2009 9:07 pm
As she stepped away from the door to let him in, both Roka's eyebrows went way up, vanishing into her bangs (which were in dire need of a haircut, come to think of it). Wasn't this guy a piece of work? She could take a wild guess at the kind of dragon he'd Impressed. To think they kept picking people like this, big guys scared of heights, whiny brats and all those types... And not her. Never her. That's why she was here. Damn things. "I typically receive word people are coming here before they show up," she informed him, but was careful not to sound as though she was condesending his ego. That would be counter-productive.
She sat across from him, parchment and feather pen in hand, the small container of ink on the desk just behind her. If he wanted a battle of stamina, he'd picked the right woman for the job. (Or been forced into her company, anyway.) "It's fine. My time is all yours."
Getting him from behind, please. If only. Of all days, she had to get one of the only straight guys in the Weyr as a new patient now. "I have been told, yes, and I apologize for my attire. Unfortunately, the rest of my wardrobe was stolen." And that was enough of talking about that, her tone said when her words didn't.
Roka scribbled something down, lifted her gaze to look him over, then wrote something else.
"As of now, I agree there's nothing wrong your head. I think it's your temperament that got you brought here. When you're ready, you can tell me about that. We've both got a lot of time to sit here until then. Thread won't be coming for a while, I don't think."
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Posted: Wed Sep 09, 2009 10:07 am
"Stolen?" K'em would have inquired further, but writing and observation ensued and the brownrider was promptly distracted. What, in Faranth's name, could be be writing already? He'd hardly been in her office for all of three sentences (an excellent method to track the passage of time, he'd assure you) and she was already making marks about him. Something about that didn't sit well with him. Twitching his lips slightly, K'em straightened just so and kept the ten-million-mark smile firmly in place. It was going to take more than a few scribbles to get him to spill anything, thank you very much.
"Oh, so you're that type, huh?" the Wingsecond replied, tone still friendly as he crossed his arms over his chest. "You think you can wait me out? Sweetheart, I hate to break it to you, but I have duties and whatnot to attend to. Wing practice, things like that." His paitience might give sometime before then, K'em's attention span was probably shorter than a firelizard's when he was tossed into a situation he wouldn't put himself in.
K'em leaned back in his chair, folded his arms over his head, and kicked up his heels, inhaling deeply. "You know, there's nothing wrong with my temperament. I'm just your average dragonrider."
Much to his dismay, he added silently, but he was a far cry from admitting that. If Roka wanted a battle of wills, she was going to find herself with a very worthy opponent.
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Posted: Wed Sep 09, 2009 10:18 am
By time he uttered the last syllable, Roka was already writing again. She nodded along to his words, not seeming at all bothered by anything he said. Really, she wanted to beat him upside the head with every book in her office at once, but damn if she didn't hide it perfectly. Came with time, practice, and dealing with bigger assholes than him. Yes, Roka thought. There was much worse to step into her office. Shards, his hitting on her didn't even compare to Uuni's. --And she'd been eying her in a perfectly professionally wardrobe!
Average dragonrider, hm? "Yeah, I can see that," she responded, recalling everything he'd said prior to that. Very average indeed. "As for your wing practice, sir, I can just call you back in here a second time." The work Roka was taking over the natural one, as usual. That's how she'd gotten this far this fast. "Because I have nothing better to do."
She wrote something else down, and kept writing, speaking calmly to him, "You can call me Roka, for one thing. And another, you don't have to guard your feelings here. I'm absolutely forbidden to tell anyone anything that's said within this room. For all I know, your friend--I assume--could have deserved it."
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Posted: Wed Sep 09, 2009 10:56 am
"Yeah, well I do have better things to do. You can't make me come back if I'm fine. Which I am," K'em insisted readily, chuckling softly. "Cordel was just pissed off because I kicked his door down. He threatens me all the time, but he never actually goes through with anything. Except this time, apparently." The brunette shrugged, gaze still on the ceiling. "It was worth it, though." The last bit was barely audible; K'em still had the unbearable urge to kick doors down now and then. However, S'kagi had informed him he was to either learn carpentry or stop kicking doors.
Finally, the brownrider settled and let his attention drift back to Roka. "Well, you can call me Wingsecond, Roka. I promise, not knowing my name just makes seperation easier." It took a lot not to choke on the laugh about that last part. Guard his feelings? What kind of crap was that? Did people actually buy that stuff? K'em shook his head.
"Look, I don't have anything to hide. I'm a Wingsecond, I ride a brown dragon, I like women, a lot, my best friend is Cordel and I've known him since he saved me from a wher-" Inhale. "-my other best friend is W'ten, who is also my roommate, he was my mentor back in the day, I transfered from High Reaches and I am really bored right now."
K'em beamed. "Are we done now?"
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Posted: Wed Sep 09, 2009 11:31 am
"No, but I have so much time, I could follow you around. In fact, I'd be obligated to, if I felt you weren't of sound mind by the end of this. And, I know denial is a dangerous thing." Wasn't that just uncalled for? But Roka did know what she was doing. It was the same as every session. More and more, she started believe in adaption. You didn't treat a child the same as an adult when they were your patient; perhaps, you shouldn't treat a grown child the same as one either. "I'm sure you wouldn't mind, though."
She scribbled something, picked the pen up, then put it back down and started writing again. "As for your name, I'll just call you whatever strikes my fancy at the time. However, I know there's a certain goldrider I may be able to get it from. Not only does everyone know of her--she is a goldrider, after all--she seems to know everyone." The pen struck the paper again. Already, it had made four trips to the ink behind her. "Luckily, Brownriderth, I don't find you the least bit off, as far as insanity goes. Just immature enough to kick down doors, and using common male tactics to guard your feelings. Loud honesty, stumbling in your sentences, flirting. Trying to assert yourself as in control. Which, really, is interesting. Given you're a Wingsecond, I have to wonder if either you give your Wingleader a hard time, or I'm completely right about what I just said. As of now, I firmly believe that I'm correct. Because you're just so dedicated to your wing and it's practice drills, I can't imagine you being a troublemaker. Either way, you certainly do have a problem, regardless of it's source."
The ink-tipped feather hit the desk behind her. Roka turned the paper around to face him. It was then obvious she hadn't been writing the whole time, just drawing. A very detailed picture of a door. "You should take this with you. Next time, rip this instead."
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Posted: Wed Sep 09, 2009 11:42 am
K'em quirked his eyebrows and gave the sketch a funny look. "You sure you aren't in the wrong profession?" he asked, making no move to take the paper. "Be a shame to waste a perfectly good drawing." Of course, it was a shame to waste a perfectly good door, as well, but that was not relevant to his arguement. "And I do not stumble though my sentences, thank you very much. I have been told I am a very charming young man." It probably didn't count when you were the one telling yourself that, but women did comment on his charms now and then.
His grin dimmed a little and K'em's expression darkened ever so slightly. "As a matter of fact, I'm not a troublemaker. Not during wing practice. And I don't give S'kagi a hard time, either. You can ask him, if you want." If there was anything worth his focus, it was wing practice. Threadfall would be the 'make or break' when it finally came and the brownrider was determined to shine.
Sighing, K'em rubbed the break in his nose gingerly. "I really don't have feelings to guard. I'm a happy guy, usually, but being down now and then is normal. I flirt with women, I like one night stands because I don't want to be tied down, and I enjoy wingpractice." He paused. "I also like adventuring, but that doesn't really happen in the life of a dragonrider. Now are you going to stop telling me I have a problem? Because I don't. And even if I did, you telling me that I have a problem wouldn't fix it. Just saying."
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Posted: Wed Sep 09, 2009 11:57 am
"At some point, I probably was." Roka shrugged and leaned back. She crossed her legs and then her arms. K'em didn't know it, of course, but she made sure to never strike such a pose during sessions. She believed body language was important. "But these days, no. I assure you, I'm right where I'm supposed to be. Same as you."
She yawned and rubbed at her left eye. Sleep didn't come easy in this line of work. "Well, Wingsecond, I'll be honest with you. As I said, there's not a thing wrong with you. On the matter of guarding feelings, of course you do. Everyone does. It's human. It's also human to want to deny it. There's nothing wrong with you except that you're human, and I'm not here to judge or repair your personal life." Roka paused, considering his words, then shrugged a second time. "You're right. That's why, if you were actually a patient, I'd have never said anything like that. But you're not. While I would have made time for you if you needed it, you don't. I have a borderline sex addict candidate who could Impress at any time, a bronzerider whose mother died recently, a lot more riders with all sorts of problems. You don't have time for this, and since there's nothing wrong with you, neither do I."
Arms stretching above her head (modesty had gone out the window; no need for it any longer), Roka stood up again. "If your friend sends you here to waste my time with a sane man again, I'll personally see to it they're somehow punished. While both of you may consider this a joke, what I do here is very real. Of all people, I would expect a rider to know just how important these issues are. Dragons can die because of the problems I do fix in this room." Her voice lightened considerably and she gave him a fond pat on the head. "So, please, get out of my workplace. You're wasting my space by being in here."
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Posted: Wed Sep 09, 2009 4:19 pm
Well. He hadn't seen that coming.
The young wingsecond blinked, barely even registering he was patted on the head and ushered out like a little lost child. And for a moment, K'em paused, brushing his bangs from his eyes and he stared up at Roka. And he wanted to tell her. He had no idea why he was suddenly so compelled, other than that he didn't want to be disregarded. But he probably wasn't going to kill Faroth any time soon, the brownrider finally decided and he stood.
Looking something like a kicked puppy -K'em was never good at handling rejection- he gave Roka a nod and made for the door.
"...uh...good luck with all that, I guess."
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