Oadatrouff is a terrible father. There's no other excuse for him having his three-turn-old in the pub with him, sitting on his knee and cooing to herself while he nurses at wine (that he's actually paid for this time 'round, for the record). A little kiddy-cup of juice sits fairly untouched while little Ailea busies herself with taking in her surroundings, and occasionally eyeing the wine glass for the beautiful clarity of the white liquid. And if it isn't that dingle of the bell, and naturally his head turns to see who's there, even if he's not currently working. "Kris! Heya, did you happen to pass that big buff man on the way up? Not bad lookin', if I do say so myself." While Debajirin's away, Oadatrouff will... try to set Kris up. And so what the big buff man was a Feln, that's not the point.
Okay, what is it with this hold? First, Iona's telling her to go scouting, and then Trouff is actually pointing toward the men /to/ scout? "Shuddup, Trouff," she mumbles, as she hangs her coat on the rack and then moves behind the bar. Her eyebrows raise as she spies Ailea, and she shakes her head. "You know what Io says, Trouffer. No kidlets in the pub. Aren't there nannies for that sort of thing?" She settles down in a stool, glad to see that the bar is fairly empty for this time of the day, and taps her fingers on the surface. "I think I'm gonna find you a man, Trouff. I swear, you spend more time looking at guys for me than with Khaly."
Oadatrouff smiles sweetly to the bartendress, his Lovely Assistant as he will always know her from now on. "Whoa..." he mutteres under his breath for the comment, immitating a feline hissing as well for the added effect. Ailea offers a happy point towards Kristiana, giving one quite the cute "Hi," in greeting before going back to staring at the drinks and reaching towards his wine glass. Trouff gets almost protective, and not of the wine, pulling her hand back and shaking his head before offering Kris a grin. "Like father like daughter, eh? It's amazing how you can influence someone over a fairly short time. And we are allowed kidlets in the pub, so long as they're supervised. And 'Lea's more mature than the 12 Turn olds, I swear!" He furrows his brow, shaking his head at her. "I don't need a man. Khaly's busy, and there are the twins, I see her when I can." Touchy, is he?
Kristiana snickers at him, chuckling and shaking her head. "Well, it gets a little old, you know, constantly have guys shoved in my face. When will people get the idea that a person doesn't always have to have someone clinging to their arm to be happy?" As she speaks, shrugging, she gets herself a glass of juice and returns to her seat. She can't help but melt into a grin at the Trouffspawn, offering her a little wave and smile. Chuckling, she shakes her head. "Oh, just what you need. That girl getting used to be in the pub. Just wait till she's like thirteen turns and fishermen start grabbing her bum. /Then/ you'll regret it." Nodding and smiling, she shrugs. "See? You don't need someone hanging on your arm all the time, either."
Oadatrouff hmms, shrugging a bit. "Well, that one wasn't shoved, that one was pointed out. He's got a career, he's said things about being interested in you before, I mean, just to consider. Cause no, you don't need 'em to be happy, but having someone 'clinging to your arm' as you put it, can be quite nice at times. Cause then there's someone. And that other fisherman of yours, well, he may as well have left you, eh, so move on, Kris." Oadatrouff's advice on relationships. Ailea's regained her interest in the bartendress again, and is now staring with wide eyes at her. "If those fishermen are after her, I'll be after them. We could bring a big stick in. And I'll teach her to defend herself against them." Yes, he was just pushing fisherman at the Kristiana. But Ailea and Kris are quite different. For one, he hasn't volunteered to be a father to Kristiana. More of a big brother who's trying to find someone to get her laid. Ahem. "No, I just haul my girl here 'round with me instead," is drawled right on back. "So how are you, aside from those men?" Not to change the subject.
"Yeah, maybe I'll talk to him when I get off work," Kristiana mumbles as she stirs her juice with a Oadatrouff Reed Straw of Delight. "If I don't, I know Iona will develop some great plan for us to cross paths anyway, so I might as well save her the trouble, right?" She looks up at his words about el fishermano and blinks, looking back down at her juice. "Yeah, you're right. No need becoming an old spinster. Might as well see what else is out there or whatever." Her voice is quite dry for the normally chipper Kristiana. She chuckles, nodding. "Defense is good, as long as she doesn't running around bapping random people with the stick." She looks up. "Those men?" She laughs, leaning back in her seat. "You make it sound as if they're lining up at the door. I'm... well... me?"
Oadatrouff beams, feeling completely that he's won, and willing to leave it. And it's been ages since he's come up with those straws, but to see her using one manages an almost parental smile to come to his face. "Iona is quit scheming. See, be happy, at least my attempts are happily out in the open. Feln ought to thank me." Lots of people should, actually. "Oh, see, I /am/ right at times," he confides to Ailea, who looks at him and then points at her drink and declares it to be "Djuice." He's also proud of her ability to pronounce things fairly well. "They probably would be lining up," he nods, ignoring the stick comment, as his Ailea is an angel and would never do that, "if they only knew you were alone again. And if you got out and socialized in more ways than behind the bar. Hiding on the beach with a harp indeed." Hmph.
Kristiana snickers and shakes her head, "That Iona... She has way too much fun at others' expenses. And yours are TOO open. I feel like a sharding... meaniehead"--Kristiana always did have strong language--"whenever I turn them down because you're so open about it." She can't help but smile and chuckle at the kidlet again, grabbing another straw and bringing it over for the girl, then sitting in a chair near Trouff. "I'm /not/, though. At least I don't think I am. I mean, we see one another and stuff, and yeah, things might be different if he Impresses and has all that bondage with a dragon or whatever, but..." She shrugs, looking confused and shaking her head quickly. "And what's wrong with me hiding with my harp? I enjoy it. No need to be forced out into socializing I don't enjoy when I want to be doing what I wish." Okay, here she goes philosophizing with Trouff now...
Oadatrouff recoils, holding his hands up defensively. "Alright, alright, I won't make it so obvious then. But there is a surplus of nice enough boys hanging around here... And you aren't a," guffaw, "meaniehead. You're lovely. Positively and absolutely lovely." That's why the men flock to her. Like firelizards to scraps. Ailea giggles for the straw, reaching after it and sharing with Kristiana one of her bigger smiles. "Oh, aren't you? Forgive me, must be my interpretation of it- Although I suppose I have to understand. I was somewhat hopeless with a person I'd nearly lost for a bit, so good for you, in that case. I mean, I ended up 'fasted to her, maybe with a few prices paid, but in the end..." Ahem. "And d'you honestly believe he'll Impress? I mean, I wouldn't know. Lived at a Weyr, but I was terrible at guessing which candidates would or wouldn't." Oh well, that's the way it goes. "Do what you want, I suppose. I don't mean to force you, but really, if you think about probability. And people don't always change when they Impress, but generally they do, so be ready for that, right?" He's feeling less pushy already.
"I'm sure there are," Kristiana replies after taking a drink. "I'm just not in the mood right now to go prancing around the hold like some flighty girl, hopping into bed with the next man she finds. You know that's just not me, Trouff." She chuckles at the kidlet before looking back at Trouff. "Well, I didn't think so. He might think so. I don't know..." She nods, continuing to stir the juice. "I just gotta get used to it, you know, because, when I see him, he gives me different signals than you and Io do... sometimes. He seems to really like the weyr. And I realize he'll probably change, and I'm just trying... I'm just gonna spend time by myself and just get over it and stuff like that. I don't want to go, like I said, running off with other guys first off." She stops. "And I've been talking about myself /way/ too much. How're you?"
Oadatrouff tilts his head, accepting her excuse. Yes, he /can/ accept things. "Well, it's not like you need to hop in bed with a guy right away. I mean, just find someone if you want someone or whatever." He changes like the wind when he compares her situation to his previous one, notice? "He might think so? How d'you mean, you don't know? Kris, Kris," he sighs, shaking his head, and then perking and getting all gossippy. "Different signals? /Sometimes?/ Alright, tell me all about 'em. I'm here to listen, even if I'm not on the job." One should require a degree in psychology to tend bars at times. "You're just trying? Is there more to that?" Prod prod. "Well, get over it if you think you should, but you're giving me the mixed signals now. Why get over it if you think there's a chance of something there and... Ya?" He's confused himself now, and he grimaces. "Don't bother, talking to anyone is good. And I'm fine. Now back to your problem." Hah.
Kristiana leans back in her seat, juice glass still poised in her hand, sips taken occasionally. She raises an eyebrow at his words, shoulders raised, voice squeaking. "I just don't /know/. I mean, he seems really happy to see me, and yet he just... I guess it's just me being confused. I don't know. You all tell me I should move on, so I guess I just read things the wrong way. I mean, he has his own, different life now, in away, and I guess I don't fit into that, and I /definitely/ won't if he Impresses, at least not from what I've heard about dragonriders." She laughs, shaking her head. "See, that's the problem. I don't know what to think. I don't... I mean, no matter what he feels right now, no matter what he's thinking, it could be totally different in a few sevendays, and where am I then? So... I'm just trying to deal with that, I guess. Silly, I know." Kristi always thinks talking about her own problems is silly.
Oadatrouff hmms with the properly furrowed forehead, nodding quietly as Ailea plays with her straw, sticking it in and out of the juice. "Just cause we all say that doesn't mean we're right. No one knows what goes on 'tween you and him like you and him do. That's the end of it, I suppose, no one got my little obsession with Khaly, and they all told me to move on, and look where it's landed me? Alright, bad example. But still." As if he could take back all his guy-pushing. He's like a dealer. Of guy drugs. "And things and people change. It happens with or without those big winged things, just they may make it more dramatic. And there's no proof he'll Impress. He could come back too. And he could be changed, or not." See, he's being logical now. Or something like that. "Alright, in the end, I'd go with what /you/ feel or think. Worry about yourself for once. Shards, Kris. What /do you/ want?"
"Well, you all have been there and done that, so I sorta respect and consider what you all say. I think... or hope... that you all would have my well-being in mind." She shrugs, chuckling. "Yeah, I remember when you used to come down to see me with all those worries: Mistay or Khaly... Mistay or Khaly...?" Shaking her head and grinning slightly, she shakes her head. "Yeah, that is true. I guess everyone does change over time. And if he doesn't Impress, yeah, I could be thinking all this for nothing." At the question of what /she/ wants, Kristiana shakes her head and chuckles, about to change the subject before snickering at herself, leaning forward and running her hand along the back of her neck. "What do I want?" She pauses for quite a while. "What I want... I guess... is to be like it used to be. Oh, I dunno. Not that it necessarily has to stay the same, but to at least be in the same location and know everything is okay." She shrugs as she stands and walks back to the bar.
Ailea gives a big yawn as her Da nods along to Kristiana, and gives a bit of a sympathetic snort to her. "Well, you've got quite a lot to think over, I suppose? Maybe you should get the people getting drinks to help you, instead of the other way around. I mean, we've been there, but I don't think those of us talkin' to you have every been with someone who was Searched. I think. I haven't, at least, so..." He erfs for her wants, actually reaching across the bar as if to pat her shoulder before stopping himself. Not being condescending, maybe, but he means well. "Who knows, maybe it will be? I mean, it's rare, but... It could happen." Ailea starts her whimpering and he shudders. "Bed time. I've got to go. Do talk to me more though, I owe you a bit of advice, no?" And Ailea becomes 'adamant' and he stands with a shudder, downing a good glass of wine in one giant gulp (only Trouff) and heading for the door with a final meep for his Lovely Assistant.
