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 Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 9:42 am
How long had it been? He'd lost count of the days, withering away like a ve-
Silly Mine, it's been-
That was rhetoric, Ialluth. Nevermind that.
F'sey sighed heavily; the older man was sitting in the back of his cell, as became usual. Standing had slowly become too tiring for the redhead, especially when he was sleeping. Still unwilling to give up and sprawl across the cold floor, the greenrider was usually found in the same position. With one knee drawn up, he'd wrap his arms around his leg and lean his head back. At one point, he stayed still for so long a guard came over to poke him, just to make sure he wasn't dead.
You should really eat more, Mine. You're getting skinny. Skinnier, I should say.
...this is a punishment, Ialluth.
Still.
F'sey rolled his eyes, slouching against the cool metal bars. If J'aro wanted to let him out, any time would be good.
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Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 10:06 am
J'aro hadn't forgotten his "prisoner", just how to say, overlooked him. Culling the tunnelsnake population near the hatching grounds was a time-consuming job, and one not content to feast on just that; his energy and patience, too, were gobbled up by the beast of burden. The second he'd seen B'lin approach him (in the midst of killing yet another of the nasty creatures), J'aro remembered.
He was no good at being angry, but he was no good at sharing his attention span either. F'sey wasn't going to die in that cell -- be uncomfortable, sure, but not die. All it took was him agreeing and he'd have let him out. It was just a stroke of bad luck J'aro didn't have time to sit and stew about the incident, else he would have surrendered and F'sey would have been freed.
B'lin went to the Whermaster after that. The who's who of Wingleaders they could work out later. His first and foremost concern was freeing his imprisoned Weyrlingmaster. The bulky, wobbly little man would hear none of it.
"Keep me out of your greenrider business!" That was the jist of it.
Then, Roka had paid him a visit, having already spoken to F'sey. They talked -- or rather, Roka and talked and talked until B'lin would at last talk, too. Ultimately, it had led them here. Back to the prison.
The guard led them to cells.
"F'sey!" Roka greeted joyously. "I brought you something. A token of good will."
B'lin almost wished he could hide behind her, but being tall had its follies.
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Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 10:16 am
F'sey visibly cringed when he heard Roka's voice. If J'aro would stop sending his blazing minions, the greenrider might have given in by now. (After all, Ialluth was still completely delighted with the offer; she'd never been good with flattery. It always went right to her head...not that F'sey was one to talk. He'd just learned to be suspicious over the turns, that was all.)
Prying his eyes open, F'sey glanced up at the mindhealer (all she did was give this Weyrlingmaster headaches, thank you very much) and her 'token of good will'. For whatever reason, he hadn't been expecting to see B'lin standing behind her (and doing his best to shrink down out of sight), but the bronzerider was not unwelcome company. (Not like a certain woman standing nearby...what? It was nothing personal.)
(Okay. It sort of was.)
Hauling himself to his feet with an ill-concealed groan (this getting old thing was really, well...getting old), F'sey stretched his limbs out gingerly. He'd managed not to wince when the majority of his joints popped, but he did not approach the front of his little holding area. After all, he hadn't really gotten clean in a while. No need for B'lin (or Roka, he added as a second thought) to see him like this.
"What is it this time, Roka?" His voice was low, gravelly from disuse. "B'lin. How are you?"
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Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 10:37 am
Roka mocked him in her mind, but didn't say a thing. She'd leave the talking between him and B'lin until the need for a meditator.
"Fine," said the soft-spoken bronzerider. Guilt plagued his face and he didn't look at F'sey.
Roka waited.
Silence.
It really hadn't been that long, but it was enough time that she knew B'lin had no follow-up. Shards and shells, boys, this was not that challenging! "I talked to this one here," Roka began. "I tried J'aro, but I had more luck conserving with the wall he was digging into. I don't blame him. From what I hear those eggs are due to hatch any day now. Since I'm sure you both want to watch, we're going to work this out today."
The very same chair she'd sat in last time with screee across the floor. "Sit," she instructed B'lin once it was placed before the bars. "Go on. Sit down."
Relctantly, B'lin did.
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Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 10:46 am
F'sey waited for B'lin to elaborate, just like Roka... And nothing. F'sey kind of knew he was waiting for nothing, but he tried not to automatically assume the worst of the young man.
"..."
Before he could come up with anything else to say, the mindhealer had pulled up her chair and began to babble again. Honestly, the greenrider supposed he should be thanking her for dragging B'lin out from under his rock, but it was hard when the bronzerider looked so miserable.
That was a common look for him these days.
Sighing, F'sey leaned back against his wall and eyed the pair warily. "I've seen plenty of Hatchings. How long can I be in holding for one punch, anyways? For all his talk of 'being just', J'aro's just being petty at this point."
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Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 2:48 pm
Roka could have sworn she already told him this, but she supposed gay men were still men, and men were creatures you had to tell the same things to over and over before it stuck with them. "I'm not here to help your feud," she reminded him. "I'm here to help the individuals involved, but what you think of each other--I'll admit it's interesting to watch, but your little tiff isn't as relevant to the big picture as you think."
B'lin curled his fingers against the cloth on his knees, dedicated to staring out the window.
Knowing she still had the floor, Roka didn't stop there. "From what I can tell, this is a big, catty fight between grown men. But! There is a serious problem here. The wing is the problem. One of you needs to step up, temporarily or not, so we're going to work through this. B'lin?"
He looked up.
"Tell F'sey how you feel about this."
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Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 3:21 pm
F'sey sighed loudly at Roka, folding his arms across his chest with a soft snort. Just because the mindhealer had previously stated she wanted no part in the soap opera unfolding around her didn't mean she couldn't have changed her opinion after talking with B'lin. It didn't hurt the greenrider to try, anyways. The little redhead had no problem with being obnoxious to get what he wanted.
"Fine. I suppose the wing is in need of a Wingleader." Having a grounded Wingleader and a pseudo-Wingsecond in jail was not helping the men and women who actually did nothing wrong, other than be unlucky enough to have their paths cross with B'lin and F'sey.
Grey eyes flicked to his former student. When B'lin remained quiet, F'sey cleared his throat. "B'lin. I'm not trying to take this from you."
I'm not a horrible person. I won't snatch your dream from right under your feet.
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Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 3:33 pm
People wondered if B'lin was looking at them or just toward them. He would gaze at them from the corner of his -- some people would swear they felt him watching only to return the gesture and find his eyes in another direction. Eye contact (or lack thereof) was one of many problems Roka wanted to work through. But there was no mistaking where and who he was looking at when F'sey said that.
B'lin watched him almost pitifully. "I don't think--"
"Feel," Roka corrected. She really needed to drive home the difference between "I think" and "I feel" with this group or they were going to run in circles till the end of days.
B'lin fell silent. If he weren't so cute (and young), Roka would have lost track of her patience.
"I feel," she urged.
"I don't feel that way," B'lin finally complied. "But I've been thinking..." He hesitated, waiting for Roka to correct him. She didn't this time. "About what you said before. I was thinking about it. I know Xanthoth wants this, and I'm pretty sure I do, but... If I really do and it's not just because of him, I still don't know if we're ready. With... how things are..."
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Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 3:47 pm
Oh, now B'lin realized he wasn't ready.
F'sey could have slapped his face in disbelief when the boy admitted as much, but thank Faranth for self-restraint. Harassing the boy now would be the nail in the coffin, the redhead thought. Instead, he listened in silence, as any good teacher should do. When it seemed as though the bronzerider's trailing off was actually the end of his thought process (they were going to have to work on his authority if he wanted to be a Wingleader), the greenrider nodded thoughtfully.
"Okay, B'lin," he said quietly, doing his best not to ruffle the young man anymore than he already was. The bronzerider was already hesitated and ended his statements more like requests as it were. "What did you want to do about it?"
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Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 4:08 pm
B'lin rubbed the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger, trying to buy time. He had closed his eyes like he'd been struck with a headache; the only thing that had hit him was a tidal wave of uncertainty. He had Xanthoth wailing in his ear -- no, he had before. Under current circumstances, the bronze refused to speak to him. (Xanthoth, too, was still a child.)
He'd never wanted to be one of "those" bronzeriders.
"There's something else," Roka announced. If B'lin needed a push, she'd give him a shove. "Go ahead. I'm here to keep you both on track."
That just wasn't enough for B'lin, who bit his lip and stared at his hands.
"Do you want me to say it?"
That was reason enough. "No," the rider said. Quickly, but he did not raise his voice. (B'lin would not do that to a woman if nothing else.) "When J'aro... I heard what happened. Why you're still in here..." Such a look on his face could have broken the heart of a statue. It was a piece of art painted with regret, loathing and just sheer despair. "And I thought--" Cracked. His voice cracked.
Roka, who had been told close to all his deepest secrets (this one included), had not heard his voice break down like this. He would leave sentences unfinished or remain mute, but this deserved some sympathy. "What he means is--"
"It's alright." B'lin swallowed and dared to look at F'sey. It was hard for him to do, he could tell it was; his eyes squinted and his hands curled and uncurled nervously. "I thought maybe you were right and it would look bad that we had a green as Wingleader even if it was only for a little while." His voice did rise now, but out of desperation, not anger. Not even close to anger. "But that was wrong of me. I barely ever saw dragon before I was Searched. I didn't know about how the colors are supposed to be, but after I got Xanthoth, people would say things... and the way they looked at him -- and me -- then the way they would look at the greenriders. I don't... I don't want to be like that because it's wrong. I'm sorry."
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Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 4:49 pm
...oh, B'lin.
Actually unfolding his arms (and forgetting how terrible he must look), the greenrider straightened himself out before walking over briskly. If you listened closely enough, you could hear the sound of his logic (and quite possibly that hard, hard heart of his) breaking. (Yeah. Yeah, he had the cheese factor. But how could he resist the look B'lin was giving him?)
"It's alright, B'lin. Don't worry about it." I would forgive you every single time, anyways. Briefly, he thought about reaching out to comfort the young bronzerider, but quickly decided against that. The young man was already well out of his safe zone, at least as far as F'sey knew. "You're a good man. I've never doubted that. I'm sure you'll be just as fine as a Wingleader." Offering a very brief smile, he shook his head and sighed softly, leaning against the front bars of his cell.
Oh, B'lin. "Don't worry about it," he repeated. "You'll be fine."
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Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 5:20 pm
B'lin's comfort zone was in Texas and he was sitting in Canada. The distance between them was so great his hands were shaking; he kept his calm well, but the emotions were too many to keep locked away entirely. "Thank you," he whispered. "I think you should take it. Even just for a little while... I want this wing to be one that doesn't follow rules that say someone isn't as good as someone else. I know that..."
The young man cleared his throat. He had a bad feeling all of the sudden. (Little did he know he was not alone, and Roka was at his side wondering why she felt such a sense of dread.) "I know you've said you don't think Ialluth can do it, but even if it's for a little while, I think you should. Just to prove that this wing is one where--"
Why did he feel so horrible? It was like hope had been lost.
"Hello," he heard Roka say. She sounded unsure. Strange.
In the doorway was a woman, or what could be assumed as a woman. The way the raggedy, black robes hung from her shoulders made seeing her figure as anything but a loose circle impossible. The hood covering her eyes and shadowing her face still left the thin lips and soft jawline exposed, hinting toward her gender. She stood about 5'5", somewhere close to Roka.
Behind her was one of the most untidy wherhandlers any of them had ever seen, but he was no match for the attention-grabbing blackrider before him. Just by being near her they felt tragic, woeful; they all knew it was from an outside force, much like a lighthouse would give to the sea a shining reminder it was there. Except this girl had no goodness to give; her guidance was a terror they would regret.
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Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 5:49 pm
F'sey watched B'lin intently, slim fingers wrapped around the bars as the young man continued to explain himself. He tipped his head, fringe falling in his eyes, and the older rider nodded once. Clearing his throat, he added, "Alright. Alright, I'll do that. For you," he tacked on, before something terrible welled up in his chest. It was a wicked feeling, something that clenched at his heart and made it skip a beat.
Unaware anyone else felt the same, he simply inhaled sharply, about to lean forward and try to touch B'lin again when he heard Roka greeting someone. The greenrider glanced up, scowling.
"Who is that? Another friend?"
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Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 5:58 pm
Roka didn't so much ignore F'sey's question as answer it indirectly. "Excuse me, but we're in the middle of something, so if you could come back later." There. She'd killed two birds with one stone.
--Or not.
The woman didn't move. She didn't appear to be breathing at first glance, but that could be blamed on the clothing. (Speaking of which, Roka was more horrified by her wardrobe. Did girls here dress this way? That would explain why she felt thrown into a tragedy. Those clothes were a tragedy.)
"She wanted in here, lady," grumbled the wherhandler, as if it explained everything. The Wher Guard was made of fearsome folk, yet not so grizzled they were immune to the eerie feelings Amai pushed on everyone around her. He'd have never gotten near here if it wasn't a direct order from Brambel. (Didn't want to handle her himself, the old b*****d.)
The woman barely lifted her head. They could see her skin was pale. Very, very pale. "You're strangers."
How did such a sweet voice make her shudder? Roka had no explanation for it. She glanced around. "I suppose we all are foreigners..."
"How sad," said the blackrider.
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Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 6:10 pm
Oh. So she wasn't invited.
F'sey shifted uncomfortably. Were he not in the jail cell, he'd feel compelled to shuffle closer to B'lin, protect his former student. He wasn't sure what about this girl's arrival had put him so on edge. Maybe it was because she had a guard? Put her clothes all in black? She was very strange...
"Go," F'sey said, much more fiercely than he felt. "We have no business with you. If you only come to point out the obvious, then go from whence you came." He snarled, feeling much like a pinned animal. "The sad one here is you."
Honestly. Look at that outfit!
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