Third Annual BF betleH Tournament

Third Annual BF betleH Tournament (http://www.betleh.com/cgi-bin/b3/YaBB.pl)

Day 2 - Semi-Finals >> Dinner time >> After you lose your betleH....
(Message started by: Q`olavraH on Feb 25^th, 2005, 1:22am)

Title: After you lose your betleH....
Post by Q`olavraH on Feb 25^th, 2005, 1:22am

JP by:

Q'olavraH
&
K'rahl

Q'olavraH stood stunned for a moment and then she inclined her head at Kieran, but said nothing before moving to retrieve the borrowed betleH. She picked it up and moved to the wall that held the practice blades, where she replaced it in the spot it had been in when she had found it.

She stood looking at the blade, her back to the arena, her mind blank of all but the fact that she had failed miserably in this round, and Kieran had taken advantage of every mistake.. some small part of her mind was also dwelling on the fact that her mate, who she had not seen nor heard from for weeks had shown up, and she had no idea how she was going to deal with him.

K'rahl was devestated to see her lose. He knew she could fight much better and he had no idea what had caused the mistakes, hesitations and lack of centre that were so uncharacteristic. He moved through the crowd, indicating to his cousins not to follow.

As he closed on her he became aware of her scent. It was pleasing, reassuring. "tlhrognI'" he said as he walked up behind her.

She had heard his footfall and caught his scent just before he had spoken his name for her. Rage pounded up through her and she wished too lash out at him, but that would solve nothing, and so she pushed it back. She did not turn to face him.

"K'rahl, you are here." She took a breath and turned to look up at him, confusion, anger, saddness all reflected in her eyes.

"I almost did not come. I enjoy competitions but this one only seems to serve Chang and his popularity campaign with the Federation. I decided to come to see you fight. More to see you." He smiled, feeling the false scar tissue that Sinatra had imbedded years ago.

"You smell good." he moved closer to embrace her.

She took a step back and put her hand on his chest. "No."

"No?"

She closed off the part of her mind that was telling her body to forget about all of her grievances and just let him comfort her. She could not. There was to much left unsettled and unsaid between them.

"There are things I need to know before we will be together that way again. I have tried to reconncile things in my head but my heart refuses to allow me to justify things any more. I do not know you anymore. You are not who I thought you were." So much pain was conveyed in her low tone that he couldn't fail to miss the fact that she was serious.

"You do not know me?" he was puzzled, she had puzzled him so much this last year.

"I am the product of my race, my Empire, my House." he said simply. "I am a soldier and I am a politician."

He growled, not in anger but in frustration. He was not used to speaking of feelings, though he was no stranger to displaying certain ones.

"The one is straightforward and that is the one you met on the b'rel, the Hegh leng." he paused. "The other is in some ways more secretive, more cautious, more analytical."

Q'olavraH frowned at him but he continued on.

"That is the one that displeased you last year, trying to stop the Chang from securing more political weight with the Federation, a Federatiuon they do not like but that I and my House do."

"Stopping them at the cost of your honor is not worth it. I thought you were one thing but you proved that if circumstances warrant it, you will do what you must for your own aims." She kept her voice low, aware that they were having this discussion in a public place and could easily be overheard.

"The house of Chang will show what they are in time to the Federation. Trust in that, and keep your honor!" She was trembling from pent up emotion, from the strain of her ordeal and from fear, yes she admitted it was fear that she had chosen wrong.

"If I have dishonoured you I crave forgiveness." he bowed slightly. He was saying words he would say to no other, not even K'Trol.

He caught her scent more strongly with his head lowered and he flicked her a loving glance, tinged with desire.

"If you will indulge me and put that past to one side I will endevour to live up to your expectations. I would not die to leave you dishonoured."

She wished with all of her heart to believe what he said was true, her hand burned to stroke his cheek and reassure him and herself that this could be salvaged but she fought herself and held back.

"I have given you my promise and I do not wish to break it. I will not leave you, if the words spoken by you here prove to be true."

She averted her eyes, "There are things we must speak of later, when there is no chance to be overheard. Now I must tell you some things, unless you have heard about my arrival here already?"

"You know I love you. You also know that before you I did not look at be' as other loD do, you know how long it took me to see you as other than a trusted and worthy warrior. I am unskilled in thinking as a member of a couple, I received no such training."

He grinned, "though I think I learned certain aspects with adequate speed..."

He looked around them, "We have quarters we can discuss things privately?" he looked back at her, "I have heard nothing since I arrived. Kur'rk said I should wait to hear things from you."

She ignored his joke and shook her head. "What I must tell you should be told here, since we might meet the subject of the telling before we leave this room." She looked around for K'Hare and the girl and saw that K'Hare was in a conversation with another Klingon warrior, the girl sticking to his side, but watching Q'olavraH and K'rahl.

"Do you see the be'Hom with K'Hare?"

He looked around, "Yes I noticed her earlier. He has taken a widow as a Mate?"

"He has taken no mate." She turned her eyes back to K'rahl then, prepared to face him as she told him what would clearly be shocking news.

"The last two weeks and more I have spent on the bI'rel from an alternate universe. Much is very different there. Women are subserviant and mistreated and not allowed to become warriors. That child, wovqut is her name, is from that other universe." She began.

"That universe's K'Hare kidnapped me, for reasons that are still unknown. Much happened while I was there. The 'other' K'Hare was gifted with a female by the Emperor. wovqut is the product of that union." She took a deep breath.

"While I was there, the 'other' K'Hare repeatedly refered to things I did, saying that he missed them, that he had missed me and that it was hard to remember that I was a fake, a pale imitation of the real Q'olavraH. The Q'olavraH that was his mate, and the mother of that child."

"I see," he looked at the child stood with K'Hare. "Somehow you escaped and K'Hare has adopted the child?"

"We have agreed that she will live on the station, but I will help in her training. She calls him uncle, and she calls me aunt."

"That is not wise. If she is not to return to her own world she should not be in the care of a Houseless warrior, no matter his standing."

He looked to her, "I could find a House for her. One from which she could gain prospects."

"No, it is for her decide her own fate." Q'ol replied.

"Perhaps she would like a House, she is after all more or less an orphan here."

"Then it is for her to decide. She is already 8 years old. She must be allowed to learn about our universe and she must be allowed to decide. The station is the safest place for her to be if the 'other' comes and wants to try and steal her away." Stubborness tinged her voice. "For all intents and purposes, she is K'Hare's family, they share DNA, even if it is from a different universe."

"I hope you are not suggesting she is yours..." he said.

"She also shares my DNA. Look at her face. I brought her here and I will share responsibility for her protection with K'Hare." Q'olavraH stated firmly.

"That would dishonour our relationship... " he said.

Q'ol arched a brow at him, her ire growing. "It would dishonor me to not take responsibility once I had chosen it. It is no dishonor for me to help train a child that might as well be of my family due to blood. You would not find it wrong if my sister's daughter came to be trained by me. This is no different!"

"You cannot raise two families with two males. You are mated to me, not K'Hare. She must be of a House, there is no reason you cannot pledge to protect her but you cannot mother her as K'Hare's child." he said.

"If she was of our House I can see no problem." K'rahl stated.

He thought, "B'HanI has no young and is always away. You can be her Aunt and her trainer, her protector. Our children can be her cousins." he said.

"If needs be she can attend lectures at K'Hare's school. You call him brother, she can call him Uncle, I dare say our own will." he said reasonably.

"Let me see if I understand this...." she said, trying to keep her voice level.

"You wish to bring her into your family? Have her join your house?" she asked.

"Why not," he looked at the child, "she couild gain much."

"What of what she wants? What of what K'Hare wants? He has already grown fond of her, he considers her to be his ward and you would deprive him of this little bit of family when he has only just found it?!" she said, her voice quavering from pent up anger.

"I see no problem." he looked at Q'olavraH. "You allow him to be involved with our children. As I say they will likely call him Uncle."

"The child must have her say in this, I agree." He looked again at the child, "Her contact with K'Hare need be no less."

"I will make no decision unless and until I speak to both of them. Perhaps you should be the one to tell him of this brilliant plan of your's." she said with a bit of sarcasm creeping into her voice.

"I can do that." he said. "At eight she is a little young but perhaps she could enter the House as a full member instead of being the ward of B'HanI'."

"I have heard enough of this plan. You must discuss it with K'Hare and the girl." She was very carefully holding herself in check, reminding herself that she had fallen in love with K'rahl because of this tendency to run over everyone and do what he wanted when he wanted. Now she could only find it to be an annoying trait that at times she wanted to kill him for.

"Our Empire and the one she comes from would be enimies of course." He looked again at the youngster. "She will need the teachings of K'Hare just as those others do."

He looked at Q'olavraH, "Beloved, you surely did not think I would blame the child, you or K'Hare for her genetics?"

"I believe you have misread what is best for her in your own predjudice against those who are not Imperial. Have you also heard that she had Romulan DNA, and that K'Hare is in fact 1/4 Romulan? Have you heard that ta'pez is an empath and is in fact 1/2 Betazoid? Have you thought about what might be in my blood and the blood of your children due to the fact that I am from a colony world, a world that was conquered and where the inhabitants have been breeding with tlhInganpu' for years?" She asked.

"Have you missed the fact there are many of mixed blood in my House?" He said simply... Then he heard the other parts... "K'Hare is a romulusngan?!"

He laughed...

"Ta'pez... Kur'rk... So that is the secret he has kept from me."

"romuluSngan blood might flow with the tlhIngan blood in his veins, but he is more tlhIngan than anyone I have known!" She was clearly quite irritated with his laughter.

"But he is a racist... I on the other hand like other races." he looked at her, "Forgive me for finding it funny but it is a little ironic."

"It is more than a little ironic, and you are an Imperial snob, so do not pretend you are not." she retorted.

He thought, "Alright I admit I dislike some races, but over all I am very accepting of mixed blood."

"Be that as it may, you look down your nose at colonials and those who grow the food you eat. So you are a snob." she said.

"My beloved one. I am a snob, K'Hare a bigot." He tried not to smile, "We are both flawed but we are still both good at what we do."

She fought the sides of her mouth as they wanted to turn upward, "He can no longer be a bigot... you however will remain a snob."

"I will, that is true." he paused, "the children are Imperial though, regardless of whatever impurities you have..."

Q'olavraH struck without warning and before he knew what had hit him her fist landed on his jaw. While his head was still ringing she turned and moved toward K'Hare and the girl, but he saw the way her shoulders shook, as if she was restraining laughter, and he smiled as he followed her.

He said to himself, "This doesn't mean I'm going to invite the Dirt Farmer to join the House...."

Title: Re: After you lose your betleH....
Post by Ing The Puny on Feb 25^th, 2005, 3:21pm

<<Science Lab, watching the events on a viewscreen.>>

Ing let loose a burst of extremely fluent and actually quite blasphemous invective in Bajoran. He had been replaying the images of the match, and had missed this argument live. Which meant that now it was too late to turn up the gain on the sound recording to hear what the two were saying - he could see the action, but the recording devices hadn't picked up enough of the argument for him to hear the details.

Ing pondered. He would have to get more information, but this wasn't the sort of information he was used to acquiring. He really had little idea how to proceed. Ing considered his next move as sat back in his chair and replayed the fuzzy picture of Q'olavraH arguing with her mate over again.