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 Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2010 10:08 am
It wasn't unusual for J'aro to stay in his own weyr with his terror of a dragon, but it still put Bekar a bit out of sorts when he arrived home in the wee hours of the morning to find the place empty. He could have used some company. Still, he wasn't one for womanly carrying-on, so he had shrugged it off.
Now, he was up early, hoping to catch J'aro before the whitemaster retired for the day. J'aro would be spending the night at home where he belonged, if Bekar had anything to say about it. Not that he missed J'aro when the man and his beast were away. Well, maybe just a little bit. Still. He wanted J'aro home with him.
Beksk hadn't objected to rising early, and so the pair were out and about, not looking for J'aro. Although the possibility of a tunnelsnake erupting into the dining hall was remote, Beksk was still on guard outside, his slightly squinted eyes sparkling with enthusiasm. Bekar relaxed beside the wher, finishing his afternoon klah.
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Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2010 10:41 am
That old saying about couples starting to resemble each other after they'd been together long enough was true. Brambel mirrored his wife in many ways; the way he moved his arms when he spoke, how he resorted to shouting, just to name a few. Then there was how he hated his wife as much as she'd come to despise him.
Brask had features that were a throwback to his long time owner, too; mostly, he was getting really old and really fat. The lazy hulk of a beast had opted out of the search. At first, he had tried to say he would only slow the Whermaster down -- he gave up on that and just admitted he didn't care about anything of this. Bekar was the Whersecond, but who cared about second place? Not him.
Had he the luxury of not giving a damn, Brambel wouldn't of. Alas, it was his duty to make sure things on this island ran smoothly and whether he liked it or not Bekar was his heir, in a way. Until he could find a way to get him demoted. As if he wanted some fumbling idiot swooning over a dragonrider to take his place. It was a shame, because he'd tried to like this guy.
Whiteriders had a way of ruining everything.
"Bekar!" A raspy voice for a ragged old-timer. Brambel wobbled on over to him and wasted no time. "You need to learn to control that woman of yours, Bekar."
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Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2010 10:52 am
Even though his superior was often less than impressive, Bekar straightened up as soon as he heard the shout. He took his job and position seriously, even if Brambel was ... jaded, was the most he could charitably say. Beksk swung his head around, squinting now in distaste. Although the bronze wher affected the respect his owner held for the whermaster and his beast, Beksk found Brambel's old fat bronze irritating. Although Brask presumably had a lot of life left in him, Beksk had more than once opined to his handler that it was high time the lump shuffled off the scene permanently.
Fortunately, Brask had not made an appearance. Bekar's lips tightened into a firm line as he turned to face the whermaster. He was used to Brambel's shouting, although he considered it unprofessional, but he was strongly of the opinion that a wherguard's wher should accompany him on the job. Wasn't that the point of being a wherguard?
Well, he wasn't in the position to mouth off to the whermaster. He nodded to Brambel respectfully. "Whermaster Brambel." Bekar had no woman, but he knew immediately who Brambel was referring to. More than once the whermaster (and the other wherguards) had spoken dismissively of his arrangement with J'aro. Bekar considered himself above such slights, but ... "What has the whitemaster done?" Bekar asked, his voice somewhat stiff. Hopefully nothing that would lead to trouble.
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Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2010 11:25 am
"How much do you weigh?"
"Did your wife ever have an affair?"
"Don't you think your bronze is lazy?"
Bekar hadn't asked any of that, nor anything like it. His question was impersonal towards the Whermaster, seeking out information about J'aro, not him. Funny how that didn't stop Brambel from wearing the face of an immensely offended man that had just had all his credentials called into question and his entire family insulted.
--Actually, scratch that last part. Anyone was more than welcomed to fire off a few rounds of verbal abuse at the hefty, ungrateful harlot haunting his house.
Those that had not spent the time with this man Bekar had would be baffled. Since Bekar had indeed had many an hour at the side of his upperclassman he would know the truth: Brambel always looked this way when someone didn't just nod their head and agree. No matter how many times he insulted J'aro, he expected Bekar to jump on board and rage about what an irresponsible idiot he'd paired himself up with. No matter how many times Bekar didn't, he kept expecting it.
"That's--" Brambel resembled an agitated bear being poked with a stick. "Nevermind what he did. It was master business only. But he's in holding now by order of the Guardmaster."
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Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2010 11:40 am
Bekar knew that the Whermaster was hoping for a different reaction, but even if he had agreed with Brambel about J'aro, he had never seen the point of shouting and complaining. Whenever issues like this came up, he only wanted to find out what the problem was and fix it.
Punch him in the face, Beksk suggested, scowling at the Whermaster. He is fat and ugly. Brask is worse.
Brambel frequently offended or irritated him, but assaulting the Whermaster was unthinkable. Quiet, Beksk willed silently. He needed to think about Brambel's unpleasant news, not worry about Beksk's complaints. J'aro in holding? Unthinkable! Shouting at the Whermaster would do no good, though. Bekar reined his temper and worry in, struggling to keep his expression neutral.
"When will he be released? Should I speak with him?" Too many questions! Bekar should have just nodded silently.
Put him in holding with Brask and see which one eats the other first.
Damn it, Beksk.
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Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2010 3:53 pm
Brambel wasn't as opposed to those questions as the one before them. Far as he was concerned, Bekar was showing some initiative in controlling his male-wife by asking. A good thing. An improvement, he would say. And he'd also say, "You can go get him now. I don't need him in there taking up space in my prison. Just get him home and knock some sense into his head."
Come to think of it, that idiot would never keep quiet about his supposed findings. "Don't you dare listen to a thing he says," Brambel warned. It was a threat, but not a veiled one. "Make him see reason or both of you will end up in trouble. You understand?"
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Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2010 4:38 pm
Get him home and knock some sense into his head ... Bekar was upset, though he was trying not to show it, and now he was a little irritated as well. What had J'aro done? Had he stepped on toes he shouldn't have? Had he been irresponsible with his dragon?
No. Bekar discarded that idea as soon as it came up. Of all whiteriders, J'aro would never be irresponsible with his Rajanth. It was only Bekar's worry making him think such outrageous things. More likely, J'aro's mouth had gotten him into trouble. Despite his anxiety, Bekar frowned. Maybe the obnoxious Whermaster was right ... perhaps J'aro did need some sense knocked into him.
Hopefully being tossed in a cell would do that, and Bekar could just take the man home without further fuss.
He nodded to Brambel, not missing the threat. Despite being the whersecond, Bekar wasn't terribly ambitious. Being demoted wouldn't hurt him too badly, but being tossed in jail and humiliated would. Bekar couldn't stand the prisoners, and the idea of being treated like a prisoner himself - ugh! It was simply unthinkable. "I understand, Whermaster. I'll go fetch him." He didn't want to make excuses to the man, didn't want to try to explain that he really didn't have much control over the flighty whiterider. He only wanted to get out of Brambel's way and figure out what the hell had happened.
Should have punched him, Beksk grumbled as Bekar made his goodbyes and started to head towards the cells. I like J'aro. The wher did have some affection (mixed with pity) for the whitemaster, feeling that the silly man's dragon was too foolish to take care of him. Beksk was no mother hen, but he became irritable on seeing J'aro mistreated.
I hope he's all right, Bekar said distractedly.
Of course he is. If he wasn't, Rajanth would be tearing this place apart, Beksk pointed out.
Well, still. Bekar lengthened his stride, trying to hurry without seeming like he was hurrying. He greeted the wherhandlers guarding the cells with his stiffest, most formal voice, ignoring the way they snickered behind his back. Damn J'aro, why had he gotten himself in trouble? Didn't he know that this reflected badly on Bekar as well? Bekar had a thunderous look on his face by the time he met J'aro on his way out of the cells.
"J'aro!" The harshness in his voice was mostly for the watching wherhandlers, but partly from a combination of worry and anger. Ignoring the way Beksk tsk-tsked in the back of his mind, Bekar seized J'aro by the elbow and began fairly dragging him towards the door. "What have you done?" He snapped, keeping his voice low.
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Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2010 5:35 pm
Stage fright and J'aro went together like vinegar and sugar no matter how upset he was. On his death bad, chances were, he would recall half his life spent sleeping and the other half spent acting out a character or dancing through life's problems. (Assuming he was cut enough slack to die in bed and not some horrible accident.) This in particular was a dance he had memorized all the steps to long ago. Sometimes, he would lead; other times, Bekar would. In either case it was expected that the other would follow along.
Dance of the Foolish Lovers. Dance of the One-sided Lover in times gone by, but no more. He couldn't say for sure what he felt was love. In fact, it probably wasn't. None the less, J'aro had come to truly admire Bekar as something more than a means of helping waste his time. He was a strong, misunderstood person. In different ways than himself, fair enough, but the foundation of their personalities were the same even if the architect took creative liberties to make each structure different.
J'aro was, in truth, colorful and idealistic and selfless with a whole lot of stupid mixed in.
Bekar was more than met the eye, but probably didn't have half as many secrets.
"What have I done? Tried to bring about some common sense over public opinion. How dare I." The last sentence was stuffed with sarcasm, spoken only when they were outside and away from prying ears. He was growing wary of telling a story that didn't have an ending. "There's something wrong with the hatching grounds."
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Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2010 5:59 pm
Bekar usually ignored the taunts of the wherhandlers. He liked his work, and he liked his fellow guards ... for the most part. If they took exception to J'aro, well, he didn't care. There were more snickers than usual as they passed, though. Bekar ground his teeth, fighting down the urge to snap at them. At J'aro.
His temper was flaring by the time they were safely away from the other guards, but Bekar fought it down, forcing himself to listen to J'aro. He wanted to grab the other man by his shoulders and shake him until he meekly agreed to stop getting himself in trouble.
That was a poor plan for a couple of reasons. For one thing, J'aro likely wouldn't appreciate being shaken and scolded like a child.
More importantly, it appeared J'aro had some very pressing concerns. Bekar was no expert in dragons, but he knew the importance of the hatching grounds as well as anyone. He frowned, this time in perplexity, feeling his anger cool somewhat. At his side, Beksk let out an amiable chirp, studying J'aro curiously. A problem with the hatching grounds would upset the wher as well, but he would wait patiently until his person decided if J'aro's story was credible before he worried himself.
"What could be wrong with the hatching grounds?" There were the rumors of tunnelsnakes, of course ... but Bekar hadn't seen any of them despite Beksk's longing to chomp them, and surely the hatching grounds would be well-protected. Was there some structural problem? "There are plenty of people concerned about the hatching," Bekar pointed out. "Surely if there were a problem they would have noticed."
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Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2010 6:17 pm
"They" would have noticed?
"They?" J'aro challenged, renewing the word in a more virulent tone than Bekar would have thought to use. "I'm 'they'. All the look outs at the hatching grounds are there because I tell them to be, and I know they're going after the tunnelsnakes relentlessly, I just--"
Just wanted to take his anger out on the one person that deserved his kindness more than anyone else, with the exception of a certain harper. What did he think he was doing?
Swiftly, he conveyed his remorse. "I'm sorry," he said, running his hand in his hair and tangling his fingers in the messy strands. On top of everything else, he looked like he needed a bath. "I'm going to take care of it, but the Guardmaster was being unreasonable. I had no choice. It's over now, so don't worry about it."
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Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2010 7:22 pm
Bekar couldn't help feeling a bit wounded as J'aro snarled at him, but he kept calm with an effort. Being imprisoned was enough to put anyone out of sorts. Although he still wasn't sure exactly why J'aro had been locked up ... surely as the whitemaster he deserved some respect from their higher-ups. Then again, the whermaster thought J'aro was some kind of air-brained pseudofemale parading around in a man's clothes.
Waiting for J'aro's tirade to finish, Bekar considered before he spoke, not wanting to set his partner off again. Sensitive conversations still made him nervous, but being around J'aro had taught him a great deal of tact. "So it's the tunnelsnakes." He frowned. Bekar had been too wrapped up in his own duties to bother much about hunting tunnelsnakes. The enthusiastic Beksk, whose prattle about eating tunnelsnakes was starting to grate on Bekar's nerves to an extreme degree, was alert enough for the both of them.
The hatching grounds were being watched now, watched very carefully, but of course J'aro knew that. "The Whermaster wanted me to 'beat some sense' into you. Whatever you do, you'd better keep yourself out of the cells. The next time they may throw me in with you." That sounded selfish. Bekar winced as he said it. Damn, why was he so clumsy with words? He didn't like all of this intrigue and confusion. There were tunnelsnakes. They had dragons, whers, and even a flit or two. They could easily toast the tunnelsnakes ... right?
And eat 'em, Beksk said, his mental voice dripping with unmistakable satisfaction.
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Posted: Tue Dec 14, 2010 4:21 pm
"The Whermaster wanted me to 'beat some sense' into you. Whatever you do, you'd better keep yourself out of the cells. The next time they may throw me in with you."
"Did he now?" That was just like Brambel to go run and tattle on him. J'aro ignored that Bekar's visit had been what freed him, and instead chose to focus on what a hypocrite the old man was. Didn't women do those kinds of things? Hmph. And then another thought, rather a joke, crossed his mind. "Would it really be so bad for everyone to leave us alone in a room together for a while?"
When push came to shove he was just no good at being angry. If someone thought people could not possibly be bad at anger, then they did not know J'aro like Bekar knew J'aro. He'd raged at the Guardmaster. Threatened him with no intent to convey otherwise. In the end, he wouldn't follow through with it, no matter what happened. (No matter how much he liked to think he had it in him to be as badass as his dearest wherhandler.)
"I doubt they'd throw you in there just for this. Relax." From the sound of it, he had taken no offense to the supposedly selfish commentary. Bekar was Bekar. Fish swam, birds flew and him? He acted about as social as a stump. "In fact, I'm sure if they did, Brambel would have a heart attack, and then you'd be Whermaster."
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Posted: Tue Dec 14, 2010 7:03 pm
Although Bekar disliked being angry as much as J'aro, it was harder for the wherhandler to let things go. It had been quite a shock to find his lover imprisoned, and he was still worried and upset. It took him a few seconds to get J'aro's joke. He simply stared at J'aro, perplexed, and then let out a reluctant laugh. J'aro was, as always, good at defusing his anger and frustration.
Feeling a bit sheepish for his earlier frustration in the face of J'aro's lightened attitude, Bekar favored his whiterider with a lopsided smile. Although Brambel was no role model, joking about the death of his superior made him a bit uncomfortable. It felt disloyal. Not to mention that the thought of becoming the whermaster himself was alarming. He would be too busy doing his job to actually do his job! The very important job of being a guard. Beksk would probably get as fat and lazy as Brambel's Brask.
Ignoring Beksk's snort at his train of thought, Bekar replied to J'aro, still with that reluctant smile. "I'd rather he stick around for a while. I don't want to be the one in charge of tossing you in jail." His smile deepened as he got into the joke. "I wouldn't mind being stuck there with you, though."
Doing a lot of mental eye-rolling (which Bekar ignored along with the snort), Beksk interjected. He has a bruise on his face.
Bekar had been so worked up he had hardly noticed. Now he reached out to J'aro, frowning slightly. He didn't lose his smile, though. "What happened there? Rajanth get touchy?" Unlike some, Bekar felt no scorn towards the white dragons for their mindless viciousness, and meant no harm by the little joke. Bekar knew where the bruise must have come from ... he'd heard the other guards say something about J'aro and a new rider. J'aro getting in scuffles was nothing new, but Bekar had made a mental note of it. He would speak to this new rider later ... with Beksk's imposing, snarling bulk at his back.
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Posted: Tue Dec 14, 2010 7:40 pm
There was a lot of room for progress in whatever strange relationship he had with F'sey. The greenrider could have had any name and any face and just as easily been J'aro's beacon of hope and forgiveness under identical circumstances. If J'aro could help someone, anyone, maybe he could forgive himself just a little. Helping a single rider realize potential that might not really be there (not that the thought crossed his mind) seemed small, but to him, it meant so much.
Should Bekar loom over the scrawny F'sey, who already had a "non-sexual size complex" according to a certain mindhealer, everything would fall to pieces. Everything he'd done would be undone. At best, his progress was minimal. He couldn't afford to lose what little he had.
"No, some rider got agitated," J'aro admitted. He'd wanted to lie, but a) he was bad at it and b) someone was going to tell Bekar eventually. "I started it. Don't worry about it any."
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Posted: Wed Dec 15, 2010 10:01 am
There were a lot of things Bekar didn't like that went on amongst the guards. First and foremost, he didn't see the necessity of inter-squad bickering. Whiteriders and wherhandlers alike could probably agree that dragonriders were irritating and a bit lazy, swanning around on their dragons all day like the lords of the sky and accomplishing nothing of worth, but that didn't mean they had to snap at each other. Bekar didn't see the need for strife between whiteriders and wherhandlers at all. They both had important jobs to do, and he for one was relieved that he wasn't saddled with a loopy white dragon. He found squabbling irritating and pointless, and actual fighting more so.
Thus, it annoyed him whenever he was forced to go after someone to protect J'aro. It felt a bit like lowering himself, but that didn't stop him from doing it. He had long ago accepted that J'aro was going to cause trouble, but he was damned if he was going to let people beat the whitemaster. A visit to this uppity foreigner - whoever he was - would surely solve the problem.
Bekar hadn't expected J'aro to encourage him to go after the rider, but he didn't much like J'aro brushing him off. "You're the Whitemaster," he pointed out, looking and sounding a bit irritated. "People should have some respect for you. If I hauled off and punched Brambel I'd be in the deepest cell they could dig for me."
Punch him anyways and I'll dig you out, Beksk said, perking up at this mention of hitting the Whermaster.
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