Corrective Measures
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Xander sat down on some cushions near the fireplace. The
confrontation that was about to occur was by no means unexpected; after all,
things had been tense in their household for some time. That didn't mean that he
was looking forward to whatever was about to happen, though. No, he'd rather be
dragged through the streets naked than talk about serious family issues with
Saelen and Pairdra.
The other two siv settled down separately, leaving plenty
of space between each of them. "What's going on here?" Saelen asked
Xander. "The kids are y'r responsibility during
the day, Xander. How is it that they're getting loose and doing these
things?"
"Why are they behaving this way, when we have told
them repeatedly that it is inappropriate?" Pairdra added.
"I don't know," Xander said to both of them.
"I thought I was doing a good job—they go to their lessons most of the
time and come home each evening. The hold isn't dangerous; why should they stay
cooped up here all the time?"
Saelen sighed. "They're children, Xander. They
shouldn't be out by themselves in a foreign hold."
"They're just curious," Xander defended. He
didn't understand the problem; after all in Sunnydale he had spent all of his
time away from home and no one had cared one whit. Why did Saelen and Pairdra
want to make such a big deal about this?
"They're destructive," Pairdra corrected
sharply. "I didn't realize that we had raised our children to disrespect
others in such a manner." What he didn't say was that he saw a lot of the
children's behavior reflected in Xander. It was particularly disturbing because
the young ones modeled their behavior on him more than the others.
"No," Xander murmured.
"We must have done something, because they have no
regard for the dalhari; they see this hold as their playground," Saelen
said. "Perhaps we have inadvertently given the impression that we do not
take the dalhari seriously." He, too, had noticed how little Xander
respected the dalhari, and how his opinion shaped the children.
"So we need to keep them inside more; I still don’t
see why the hold should get involved with whether or not the kids take
lessons," Xander said stubbornly. "They're our kids, not the
dalhari's. Let them deal with their own kind."
Saelen's jaw dropped in shock. Where that that come from?
Xander had never expressed such outright hostility toward another species. Most
of the time he was pretty open, since he had started out human. "Xander! That's not…"
"We're guests of the dalhari, Xander. Besides, they
take a more active role in childrearing than siv holds do. To them, a child is
the responsibility of all dalhari, not just the parents," Pairdra
explained. He thought that they'd gotten over this stuff—Xander's
intractability regarding issues of interference and control. It appeared that
they hadn't.
"Which reminds me…Xander, why are you acting like y'are toward us and the kids?" Saelen asked. "Y've been a dictator—ordering
everyone around, refusing to discuss things, and generally being very mean."
"It's no wonder the kids don't obey y'; remember how
they acted when we first arrived here? Y'were so mean
to them that they hissed at y'!" Pairdra added. Perhaps it had been a
mistake to leave the kids with Xander when they were obliviously angry with
him.
"I was trying to keep a little order, to make them
obey!" Xander defended. "And y'two weren't
helping—y'just stood there. What was I supposed to
do?"
"Yelling at them like that has never worked, and y'know it, Xander," Saelen replied, frowning. "And
we don't like being treated like that. We're all equals here; no one of us
gives orders like that."
"Right," Xander snarled. "Y're the eldest, Sae. Everyone thinks y're
in charge. Me, I'm just the baby—too young in siv years to even be mated. How do y'think it feels to have
everyone around y'think that y're
a kid playing around with adults?"
Pairdra scowled. They'd gone over this before, too. People
didn't really care about how old Xander was—but they might start if he
continued acting like a child. "So y'get mean to
us to prove y're an adult?"
"No, I try to exert a little control around the kids,
so that they mind me!" Xander growled. "And y'two
don't help when y'don't back
me up."
"We'd support y' if we thought that what y'were doing was right," Saelen said to him. "But
y're just hurting them when y'yell
like y'do, and then practically ignore them the rest
of the time—like y're doing here."
"I'm just trying to make them behave!" Xander
insisted.
"But that's not what the rest of us see,"
Pairdra said. "Perhaps the dalhari are right and these lessons will help
us."
"What!" Xander screeched, leaping up from the
floor. "How can y'say that?"
Saelen sighed. "Y've
obviously not adapted to life here, with us, as well as we'd originally
thought, Xander. Maybe these lessons will give all of us a chance to learn
something together."
"Y…" Xander started, furious.
"Y're
a siv now, but whenever something bad happens, y'act
like the human y'were before y'came
here. But that's not what works in this—our—world, Xander. We would've noticed
it before, but for the last ten years, almost nothing bad has happened,"
Pairdra said.
"Y'can't go on like this,
Xander. It's not good for the kids. What they're learning from y'won't help them when they get older—they'll continue to
get into trouble," Saelen added.
"And y'think the dalhari
can do this for us?" Xander asked. "Why not just return to Yark. He was more than happy to lecture us to death."
"We're here now, and we aren't returning to Caildin
any time soon," Saelen replied shortly.
"I'm not going to go along with this," Xander
said firmly, his eyes narrowed. "And y'can't
make me."
Pairdra shrugged. "No, we can't. But the elders can
ask us to leave. Where would we go, Xander? How far are
y'willing to drag this family before y'decide to change—or someone decides they've had
enough?"
That made Xander pause. He had never considered that one
of his mates might leave him. It happened occasionally; couples would grow
apart and separate. "I don't want that," He murmured, staring into
the fire.
"Then think about this situation very
carefully," Saelen said to him. He and Pairdra were tired—tired of
traveling, of moving, and of suffering. They liked Na'alha and wanted to stay
for a long time. They'd prefer to do that as a family, but if the situation
warranted something else…Well, they were adaptable.
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"How are the lessons going?" Spike asked Gaha as
they walked to his quarters.
Gaha shrugged. "As well as can be
expected. Saelen and Pairdra are putting the most effort into them, but
they're the ones that don't really need instruction. I'm hopeful that a new
idea of theirs works out—they want Xander to start working outside their
quarters, so that one of them can stay with the kids. Without his influence,
they might start acting a little less…wild."
"It might work," Spike said thoughtfully. He had
been avoiding the siv family for the past two months, ever since the
confrontation over Mai'zi and Hainien's dyeing experiments. Del and Rali hadn't
minded; the siv got on their nerves as well. The siv children weren't a good
influence on Rali, who couldn't help but occasionally mimic their poor
behavior. As much as Spike wanted to like the only other person from his home
dimension, at the moment Xander was not his favorite person.
"I think they've improved to where the elders won't
ask them to leave," Gaha said. "However, I'm not sure that they are,
as a family, very content right now."
Spike nodded as he ushered Gaha into his quarters. She was
joining them for a midmorning meal. "I wonder at the wisdom of having
Xander as part of that family," Spike said as they settled down into the
pillows by the fire. "He's so young."
"Hmm…" Gaha murmured as she bit into some fresh
fruit. She saw what attracted the other two siv to Xander, but couldn't help
agreeing with Laio. He was so young—and from what she'd seen of his
personality, not a person she would have chosen for changing. She wondered if
he accepted the siv only because he was one. The youth liked humans as much, if
not more, than his own species, but couldn't bring himself
to really respect the dalhari or the pakra—two species counted as friends of
the siv.
"He's still hostile toward my family," Spike
mentioned, not completely sure how to bring the subject up. "Very
competitive."
"We've noticed," Gaha said dryly. "If we
could, we'd ask you to leave for a while." Del walked into the room,
carrying Rali, just as Gaha made the comment.
"Why is that?" Del asked cautiously. She set
Rali down and took a place near Spike on the floor.
"So that the siv can get themselves
straightened out," Spike replied.
"Oh. For how long?" Del
asked. She liked Na'alha, but could always work the forges in La'iv, and Laio
was always welcome in Paven's dye shop. The guild
could send another dyemaker to Na'alha.
Gaha shrugged. "Not too long, I suppose. Maybe a year
or two—just long enough for Xander to mature some and for the kids to grow out
of the obnoxious stage they're in right now."
Spike looked over at Del, who was scowling a little.
"I'll have Angel and Idiot ready to go in the morning," He said,
referring to his and Del's ifnan. He'd named every ifnan he'd owned Angel,
after the first one he'd gotten. Del's, however, was named for its charming
personality.
"We're going to La'iv?" Rali asked excitedly.
She loved La'iv; Yahjain and Paven were there, and they always let her help
them. When they'd visited last year, Yahjain had tossed her into a huge pile of
yarn, letting her get all tangled up. It had been a lot of fun.
"Yes, tomorrow," Spike replied. He was grateful
that Rali was at the age where such things were adventures and not burdens. The
guild would be surprised, but then again they were used to life not being calm
around Laio and his family.
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"Who cares about which person walks into a room
first?" Xander whined as his family walked home. They'd been learning this
kind of useless stuff for months now. When they weren't in lessons, he was in
the fields, while Saelen and Pairdra worked with the warriors. The kids had
been given over to a set of tutors who tolerated no misbehavior.
"It shows respect," Saelen muttered. He didn't
like going to class every day, but he understood the importance of what they
did.
"And?" Xander asked impatiently.
"It's a stupid tradition. We don't do that," He said, referring to
the siv.
"Actually, we do," Pairdra replied. "Y'never picked up on it."
Xander shook his head. "Y're lying."
"No, y're
inobservant," Pairdra shot back. Xander, despite his complaining, was getting
better, as were the kids. At the very least, all three had learned a great
measure of self control. Mai'zi and Hainien no longer ran around like wild
animals, and Xander made at least some effort to be polite to their hosts.
A lot of that had come about after Spike and his family
had left. It shocked Xander to learn that the dalhari had left to avoid him and
his family—he hadn't thought that they were capable of running someone off. At
first he'd gloated, until Saelen and Pairdra told him that it wasn't an honor,
but rather an insult. That had shaken Xander a little, and as a result he had
applied himself more to his lessons.
Working in the fields had also helped. While Xander was by
nature a warrior, exerting a lot of his energy in manual labor was good for
him. He was given jobs that didn't require a lot of interaction, so he had time
away from people—who tended to annoy him very easily. The kids picked up the
good habits of their tutors, and without Xander's influence they actually
retained that knowledge outside the classroom.
However, they were still suffering a little. They had to
compensate the house and the weavers' guild for all the damage they'd
done—which was a lot. Mai'zi and Hainien had convinced the elders to let them
work off the damage to the public gardens by helping the gardeners, which was
an acceptable proposal all the way around. The rest of the damage, though, was
paid for by Saelen, Pairdra and Xander. It was difficult to do, since they did
have to provide for the family as well. Selling the ifnan had reduced the debt
load considerably, but they'd still be paying for at least another year.
Pairdra and Saelen were more than willing to put up with
lessons and a grouchy Xander because the final outcome was good. They were a
family again, Xander was acting more like his normal self, and they actually
enjoyed being around their children.
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"I see that La'iv suited you," Waei remarked as
Spike, Del and Rali walked into the great hall.
Spike smiled. "Of course it did." The elder
laughed at his smug response. "And how has life in Na'alha gone over the
last year?"
"You'd know as well as I," Waei replied.
"Gaha tells you everything."
"I know, but it was the polite thing to ask,"
Spike said, grinning. Del elbowed him, hoping that he'd start to behave.
"How are the siv?" She asked directly. They'd
been told that it was 'safe' to return, and so they had. Still, she didn't want
to be around the same unbearable creatures they'd been when she and the others
had left.
"Much improved," Waei replied merrily.
"Although Xander is now making noises that he'd prefer to be doing
anything but digging up yimkia."
"Ah, but the job suits him so well," Gaha said
as she joined the group. "Welcome back. You were missed."
"Thank you," Del said softly. "The elders
of La'iv send their thoughts."
"Ah. So, have you settled into your quarters?"
Gaha inquired politely.
"Of course. You will be joining us for
dinner?" Spike asked her and Waei.
"As you wish," Gaha answered. It wasn't a hardship;
she loved visiting with her daughter, son and grandchild. "Do you want to
visit with Xander?"
Spike grimaced. "Perhaps later.
At the moment we would like to have a quiet meal with family."
"And you want us to dine with you why?" Waei
shot back, smirking.
Spike rolled his eyes. "Del, can you do something
about that?"
Del grinned. "Nope. You led
yourself right into it. Why should I dig you out?"
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Xander was just about to collapse on the bed when a knock
on the main door stopped him. "Go away," He muttered under his breath
as he went to answer the door. He'd been working the fields all night,
protecting the tender new crop from a frost. Now he wanted to do nothing but
sleep in the quiet that resulted from the absence of his family.
Spike watched in amusement as an obviously sleepy Xander
glared at him as he opened the door. "Morning."
Xander's eyes widened. Spike?
"Hi. When did you get here?"
Spike shrugged. "A few days ago.
How's it been?"
"Um, good," Xander said, a bit confused. Why
hadn't anyone told him that Spike was coming back? "Why are you
here?"
Spike frowned. "Just to say
hello."
"No, In Na'alha," Xander added.
"Oh. It is home now, you know," Spike reminded
him. "We just spent a little time in La'iv."
"Ah. You can come in, if you'd like," Xander
offered, moving to open the door wider.
"No, you need your sleep. We can talk later,"
Spike said, waving him off. "Have a good day, Xander," He said as he
turned around and walked away. Xander watched him go before closing the door.
He'd ponder Spike's return later, when he had had a bit of sleep.