Procrastination

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

Characters: Briata, T'vanen
Description: T'vanen meets Briata for lunch and queries her about her day.
Location: River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 4, day 4 of Turn 5
Notes: Mentioned: Ishek, Solieira (indirectly)

Briata

"How did your morning go?" T'vanen asked as he slipped into a seat
beside the Lady Warder. Former Lady Warder, he supposed. "Nini said
she didn't wake you and was going back to check on you at her morning
break."

"It was fine." Briata needed to go see the headwoman, but she had been
procrastinating the entire morning. How long would it take Ishek to
figure out that she wasn't coming back - probably not long. "I didn't
really do much. I mainly wandered the halls in an attempt to get
acquainted with the weyr and practise toning out the dragons." The
noise was worse in the morning and she was already nursing a headache.

"Perhaps you should consult the healers - or something." T'vanen now
wished he had spent some time learning more about her gift after she had
told him about it instead of just assuming she would always be all right
at Garnet Valley Hold. "Did you see the headwoman? Or one of her
assistants?"

"I think it's just going to take some practise closing things off."
Briata tried to smile in an encouraging manner, but it lacked warmth.
"I will go see the headwoman soon. I just...haven't gotten around to it
yet."

"Well," he sighed. "I think I'd better report to somebody that you're
here. In case ... in case somebody's looking for you at Garnet Valley."

"You're right, I didn't think about that." Briata echoed T'vanen's
sighed. "I'll go right after lunch." Briata pushed her food around on
her plate. She didn't have much of an appetite though she knew she
really should eat. Jewel, perched upon her shoulder with her tail wrapped around Briata's neck, eyed the plate greedily. "What about you?" She asked after a few moments,
"How was your morning?"

"Oh, drills. They went fairly well," he said, though his tone suggested
there might be room for improvement. "Did you - er - leave a note or
anything? Back there?"

"Back there?" Briata's brow furrowed. "Oh. Yes, I did. I told him
that I knew about the greenrider and that he'd broken his vows. I told
him I couldn't stay in a marriage where such a vow would be broken and
that I wished him happiness." As upset as she had been, Briata could
not bring herself to be completely rude.

"All right. Then he knows you've not been stolen away or anything."
The thought had occurred to the young bronzerider, rather belatedly.
"Can you find your way back to Nini's room?" He grinned. "Did you
leave little chalk marks on the corridor walls so you could?"

Briata flushed at the tease and shook her head. "I don't know if I can
or not, but I'll find it eventually." The Weyr seemed a thousand times
bigger than even Garnet Valley. Briata hoped she could learn her way
around quickly.

"Don't be afraid to ask, Briata. People do get lost here, very easily,"
he warned. The scale of the Weyr was out of most people's experience.
With hundreds of dragon weyrs to fit in all along the cliffs the
internal corridors snaked for thousands of dragonlengths behind them,
making the most of natural caverns when they could.

"I will ask." The dragons wouldn't be of any use in that regard, but
people had seemed friendly enough. "Thank you T'vanen. I know I've
said that already." She looked up, holding his gaze. "But thank you
for everything. I don't know what I would do without your friendship."

"You're welcome," he said with the manners Nini had drilled into him.
"It was my pleasure to help. And - and I'm glad we're friends. Glad
you didn't get stuck there."

"Yes. Me too." Briata just wished she hadn't had to leave, that Ishek
had kept his vows. She had made one to love him and she had tried, but
what he did was not something she could just ignore. "I suppose I'd
best finish and get off to see the headwoman." Jewel made a soft noise, reminding Briata that she had food left on the plate, an obvious attempt to get Briata to give her some.

"Of one of her assistants - though with your rank ... Maybe the
Headwoman is best."

"We'll see if she's available, but yes, I should go talk to someone."
Briata took a few moments to eat a few more bites. There was still
quite a bit of food left upon her plate, but she had at least eaten a
little. Finally she pushed her plate to the side. "Are you busy after
lunch?"

"I've support duty - errands to run, that sort of thing. But I should
be back mid-afternoon. Shall we meet in here then if we're both free?"

"Would you be willing to go to the headwoman with me?" Briata was
almost afraid that the woman might tell her to go back to Garnet Valley.
The Weyr received so many women in situations even more troublesome
than hers, though, so really her fear was unfounded.

"Well, I _could_," he agreed slowly, "this afternoon. If you haven't
managed to see her or one of the assistants by then."

T'vanen didn't sound too eager to do so. Briata nodded and smiled her
thanks to him, but silently decided she would simply go on her own. She
didn't want T'vanen to do something he didn't really want to do. "Then
I shall see you this afternoon."

"If we can both make it. Don't worry if you can't. We'll catch up this
evening," he promised

Briata nodded slowly. Perhaps it would be best if she just went alone. T'vanen didn't _need_ to go with her and she wasn't a baby. Jewel chirrped in the girl's ear and Briata smiled softly before plucking a bit of sausage from the plate and giving it to her firelizard. No, T'vanen didn't need to go - and she needed to grow up.

Last updated on the August 29th 2009

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Procrastination