Bringing Home A Girl

Writers: AL, Jane
Date Posted: 18th August 2009

Characters: Briata, T'vanen, Nini
Description: T'vanen takes Briata away from Garnet Valley to the Weyr.
Location: River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 4, day 3 of Turn 5
Notes: Mentioned: Ishek
Takes place very late at night, after "On The Train".

Briata

There was River Bluff, beautiful at night with the river glittering in
the moonlight. Even its beauty, the grace that nature presented, could
not lighten Briata's heart. She felt used, rejected, and confused. She
just couldn't understand why Ishek had to break his vows. She had done
everything she could think of that a proper wife should, and yet he had
seen fit to not only avoid consummation, but rather give himself
physically to a greenrider. It pained her. She didn't want to think
about it, but she was having trouble thinking about anything else.

Briata sighed as the bronze moved in for a landing. It was a gentle
one, barely felt by the passenger who wasn't quite used to riding
dragonback. She thought she should smile to T'vanen, but her lips
refused to move. In silence, she allowed the bronzerider to help her
down from her perch.

"Welcome to River Bluff Weyr, Briata." T'vanen said, mindful of his
dragon's warning that the young woman was unhappy. "How is the dragon
noise?" he asked, not certain if enough dragons would be sleeping to
make a difference for her.

"It's not too bad. There's only a few conversing at the moment.
Nothing like last time." She tried to smile again, but Briata just
couldn't. She was grateful to T'vanen, but she was also tired and
heartbroken. It was not a god combination. "A couple are contemplating
sleep. One is hungry..." She was chattering unnecessarily and the girl
let her words trail off.

T'vanen nodded. "I've been thinking. I could take you to the headwoman
but it is the middle of the night." And she would likely have questions
that T'vanen didn't care to answer right away. "So I think I'll take
you to my mother. She's got a big room so there's space for you to
spend the night and its deep inside the cliffs. I don't know if that
will help in the morning, but it might. Would that be all right?"

"That's fine." To be honest, Briata hadn't even thought about where she
would be sleeping that night. Of course it wouldn't be seemly for her
to stay with T'vanen, but if she'd had to, she would have done it.
Couches could be comfortable sometimes. "I just hope she won't mind."

"Nini never minds anything," he assured her. He finished unfastening
her bags and tucked one under his arm to free up a hand to guide her
toward the cliff. "Your firelizard's here," he said, smiling as the
gold wings glinted in the electric light that lit what passed as a
'Weyrbowl' at River Bluff.

Jewel chirruped as she landed upon Briata's shoulder. The woman leaned
her head against her firelizard's, grateful for the little gold's
companionship. It was the one thing Ishek gave her that she kept.
"Please, lead the way." She was tired, so very tired.

He did, in silence for the most part, except to tell her that his mother
was a nice lady, though a little eccentric. She liked living right at
the back of the weyr, at the very end of the electrical lighting wiring.

Eventually, after a long walk through deserted corridors, he knocked on
a door. "Nini!" he called. "Nini, it's me."

His mother sounded nice. Briata just hoped she was nice enough to not
resent being woken in the middle of the night. She would have to do
something for her - for both of them. They were helping her, taking
care of her. What, she didn't know, but hopefully she could think of
something when she wasn't so tired.

When the door opened light flowed out into the dimly lit corridor. "Of
course it's you, darling," the rather spare-framed woman said with a
wide smile. She rubbed her rumpled hair but made no effort to tidy it.
"And a friend." She stepped aside and held the door open. "Come in."

The room that was revealed as the pair stepped inside was a single large
cavern, clearly natural and for the most part unaltered form its
original state. While furniture and screens were scattered around the
large space the salient feature were a series of stalactites which
culminated in a very large example that almost reached the floor.

"Brem," Nini said, waving a hand at the stalactite. "He did have to
have a name," she added with an apologetic tone but a twinkle in her eye
that belied it. "And I'm Nini, Tu's mother."

"And this is Briata," T'vanen said in introduction. "She's come to the
Weyr to live for a while and needs a place to sleep tonight."

"How do you do?" Briata wished the visit were under different
circumstances. Regardless, she was going to be polite, especially with
someone who was going to help her. "I do hope I'm not imposing."

Nini laughed. "It's not the imposing that matters, Briata, but the
willingness to be imposed upon. You look exhausted." She waved a hand
at her son. "Put her bags by the spare bed and get back to your own. I
can get her settled for the night and organise breakfast for her in the
morning."

T'vanen did as he was told, trekking across the room and disappearing
behind a lovely curved wooden screen. A moment later he reappeared. "I
will leave you, if that's all right, Briata. And in the morning
tomorrow I'll have drills and you'll probably have things to organise.
We might catch up at the midday meal."

Briata stared at the stalactite as she passed by it. How odd to have
something like that right in the middle of one's quarters. She stopped
before she reached the screen and for the first time that evening,
smiled though it held little light. "Thank you T'vanen. I appreciate it."

"You're welcome. Sleep well." With a quick hug for his mother the
young bronzerider disappeared, closing the door behind him.

"We won't talk, Briata, because you look like you need to sleep. Do you
need the necessary? I'm afraid it's a way back down the corridor, but
otherwise there's a bowl and water for a wash -" Nini had crossed the
room and led Briata around the screen to the little alcove with a bed, a
small clothes press, a small table beside the bed and a deep armchair on
the other side of it. On the table was a glowbasket which Nini opened.
"This was once a storeroom and there's only one light switch - which is
by the door - so when I turn it off you'll need this."

"Thank you. I think I just need to go to bed." Briata was afraid to
wash her face, it might wake her to the point where she wouldn't be able
to sleep. She desperately needed sleep. "Thank you for letting me stay
here."

"You're welcome, Briata. Good night."

Nini left the girl and her pretty gold firelizard alone and crossed the
large room to the light switch beside the door. For a moment, before
she flicked the switch she looked thoughtfully at the screen behind
which her visitor was probably readying herself for bed and wondered ...

But no. If Tu had wanted to tell her anything he would have. The girl
was probably exactly what she seemed - just a young woman running away
to the Weyr with the help of the passing bronzerider. Though she wasn't
just _any_ young woman, not with that firelizard and her beautifully
made clothes -

Firmly turning off her speculation with the electric light, Nini plunged
the room into darkness. Two pools of soft glowlight remained and Nini
headed toward the one lighting her own bed space and what was left of a
night's sleep.

Last updated on the August 29th 2009

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Bringing Home A Girl