Things Are Looking Up

Writers: AL, Anaria
Date Posted: 5th April 2011

Characters: J'klin, Briata
Description: Briata helps Nimyth out with and itch, and talks to J'klin about his problems
Location: River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 1, day 19 of Turn 6

Briata

Briata's gold preened while perched upon her shoulder. The little
creature had taken to spending a little more time away from her
mistress, but not _too_ far. She was getting older, that gold, and
catching the eye of other firelizards. She teased those bronzes
without truly meeting too, not the sort to carry on in a frittering
fashion. It was just she paid them no mind. Not yet. Briata knew
that would change eventually, though she didn't know when. And she
also knew that she would lock herself up in her room when that time
came.

She emerged from the area of the dragon infirmary, blinking up into
the sun and then traversing her way across the bowl. She had visited
the injured dragons, soothing and comforting those who were forced to
be there, unable to fly or walk and who remained in pain. Some were
better. Some still had a ways to go. It was heart-wrenching, but
Briata wanted to visit anyway.

The further she got, the fewer injured dragons she saw. Of course, as
she passed each one, she greeted with warm tingle of a touch, her
gentle mental caress like a breeze teasing one's face. Her gift had
been hard to learn to control, but now that she had more control on
it, it was a joy to speak to the dragons, especially since she could
narrow things down now rather than be forced to hear them all at the
same time unless she wanted to.

}:Why hello there,:{ Nimyth said, feeling an unfamiliar mental
greeting. Phiralith was off at drills again, and J'klin was finishing
up his afternoon meal, so the brown dragon was sunning himself in the
Weyrbowl. He had gotten bored waiting for his rider to come out and
scratch the itchy patch on his wing joint, and this new source of
attention was interesting to him. }:Would you mind awful much
scratching my wing? It's terribly itchy.:{

Briata paused as the sound of a voice filled her mind. It was a
wonderous thing whenever a dragon talked to her. Not just talked, not
when she just heard, but when one talked _specifically_ to her. It
filled her with warmth and light. She turned, a smile upon her lips,
small but palpable and she closed the distance between her and the
dragon who had made the request. "Of course." She acquiesced, then
set about getting in the right angle so she could scratch in just the
right spot. She reached up, fingers curled and dug in gently.
**Better?**

}:Much better,:{ Nimyth said. }:You are very good at scratching,:{ He
angled his head down to fix a whirling blue eye on his new friend.
}:How can you hear me? Most people I have to try to talk to.:{ Nimyth
asked, curiosity getting the best of him. He sniffed at Briata, but
she smelled just the same as any other human to him.

**Nimyth, who are you talking to?** J'klin asked, finally on his way
out to tend to his lifemate.

}:I made a new friend,:{ He responded simply.

**You just can. Just as I have the ability to talk to you. I can not
explain it.** Briata was far too involved with the dragon to worry
about any approaching humans. She wouldn't have seen him anyway,
perched as she was with an enormous wing in front of her. **And I am
glad to be of service. I am Briata.**

}:Her name is Briata,:{ Nimyth filled in. }:She is nice, she scratched
my itchy spot. Unlike _you_ who was too busy!:{

**Briata,** J'klin thought to himself. **Didn't she used to be a Lady
Holder?** "Hey there, Briata, this big oaf causing you trouble?"
J'klin asked aloud, a
crooked grin forming on his face as he approached.

The girl turned, though her hand remained to keep scratching for a
moment longer before falling back to her side. She inclineed her head
toward the dragonrider, not as an indication that yes, his dragon was
bothering him, but more as a greeting. "No, he's no bother. He was
just itchy." Briata gave the dragon one last pat. "You have the
advantage. You know my name, but I do not know yours."

"My name's J'klin, and I see that you've already met Nimyth. Thank you
very much for scratching him," he introduced himself with a smile. "I
don't believe we've ever met before, how long have you been at River
Bluff?" J'klin chided himself inwardly for knowing so few people at
the Weyr he'd lived at for a few turns now.

"I've lived here for about ten months now." Briata tilted her head.
Had it really been so short a time? It seemed like it had been longer
than that. But the time with B'lamick also seemed like it had been so
short.Her throat tightened as it still did whenever she thought of
him. "Less than a turn." She added in a softer tone.

"Ah, so you're pretty new to the area too. We've been here 2, maybe 3
turns now," J'klin explained. "I grew up at the Sea Hold, then moved
to Dragonsfall where I Impressed. Didn't you used to be at Garnet
Valley?" He asked. He'd heard a few rumors as to why she'd left,
ranging from getting pregnant with a rider's baby to her completely
losing her mind.

Briata nodded slowly, caution creeping into her thoughts, though her
expression hid it from view. "Yes. I was there. Briefly." Very
briefly. That still pained her, though not in the same way as it once
had. She had moved on. It was other things she was still having
difficulty dealing with.

"Bad experience?" J'klin said, gauging her reaction to the suggestion.
"I know how that is, my reasons for leaving Dragonsfall were pretty
bad too. Bad breakup, problems with discipline because of alcohol
problems," he shook his head, clearing the bad thoughts. "Sorry to
bring it up, I didn't mean to bring up bad reminders of the past."

"It's all right." Briata didn't really feel like explaining it to
J'klin. She was sure he'd heard enough rumours and most, if not all
of them, would be wrong. But rehashing the past to someone she barely
knew was not really something she thought was necessary. "I'm sorry
you had a bad experience." Alcohol. It could breed trouble if not
kept in check. "I hope your experience here will be better."

J'klin nodded, "Well, I've been really putting my mind to making it
all better. It's hard, but I'm doing ok." He paused a moment, before
asking the question that he was really curious about. "So you can hear
Nimyth?" He asked curiously. Nimyth didn't make it a point to talk to
others unless it was really necessary.

Jewel chirped as if she was finally catching up to the conversation
and giving her own greeting. Briata reached up to caress her
firelizard, scratching beneath her chin, her second favourite spot.
"Yes. I can hear Nimyth." The dragon was given a sideline glance and
her expression brightened just a shade. "I can hear the others, too."

J'klin's eyes widened. He had heard rumors that Briata could hear all
dragons as well, but many dismissed it as just her hearing voices in
her head. "Wow, doesn't that get annoying?" J'klin asked, his voice
filled with awe. "Especially when Thread comes and dragons are getting
hurt?"

"It was hard at first." She admitted with a nod. "But I've learned
to control it since then." Except during goldflights. That was still
an issue, but if she just stayed in her room, it was all doable.
"It's harder to block it out at sometimes than others.
Threadfall...it's harder then. But I can do it." It took more effort
from Briata during Threadfall, but yes, she could do it.
"I've...actually started helping in the dragon infirmary during
Threadfall."

"Wow," J'klin said, impressed. "That's very selfless of you, to
realize that you have a talent that helps out a lot, and to utilize
it, even though it might cause you discomfort. I know if Nimyth were
ever hurt, and I wasn't able to talk to him that I'd feel better
knowing that someone like you was there."

Briata's brow furrowed and she shook her head. "Not selfless.
Practical. I wasn't really doing much during and after Threadfall.
Now I feel like I'm being useful." And when it came to Threadfall,
everyone should be doing _some_thing useful.

"Well that's a way to look at it. What do you do when you aren't
helping out at the Infirmary?" He asked curiously, rubbing Nimyth's
eye ridge errantly while he talked to her. "Have you considered
standing for a Hatching? You don't look like you're too old for it?"

"I'm a weaver. And I have considered it, but I don't wish to
Impress." Briata had to explain this pretty much any time someone
asked - and people inevitably asked, especially when they found out
about her ability. "I'm happy with the way things are." Sort of.

"It is a lot of work being a dragonrider, and a lot of risk as well.
You stop having control over your own life. I can understand why you
feel that way. And a weaver you say? What sorts of things do you
weave? I don't wager there's a tremendous market for sweaters here!"
Perhaps, J'klin thought, he could have Briata make him a present for
Roana.

Briata wasn't sure J'klin understood at all, but she made no attempt
to argue the point for it honestly didn't matter. "I work with fabric
a lot. Making clothes, blankets. I'm particularly fond of embroidery
and do that a lot, but love tapestries as well. I'm working on one
now, actually." She did allow for a small smile at the mention of
'sweaters'.

"Would you have the time to take a commission? You see, I've a lady
friend, and well, I'm a sharding fool when it comes to dealing with
her. I think that a tapestry of our dragons might help to win her over
a little bit. Of course, I'm willing to pay whatever you'd ask for
it," J'klin said. Roana was certainly worth it.

"I'm only an apprentice." Briata's voice was apologetic in its tone.
"But if you really wish me to, I would be glad to do so." And she
certainly wouldn't charge much. Her craft was something she loved to
do, even if she had come into it late. Briata tilted her head,
regarding the dragonrider. "A friend? Someone whom you wish to be
more than that with...I can do that. I can sketch your dragon and
hers, then put something together. What is her dragon's name?"

"Her dragon's name is Phiralith, she's about average size, very
daintily built, and a lovely mint green color," J'klin described. "And
she and I have been friends for turns. We've been trying the
relationship thing out recently, but I apparently can't seem to get it
quite right. I am hoping that a small gift will help the situation
along a bit."

"Oh, I know Phiralith." Briata's lit up with recognition at the name.
Of course, she knew all the dragons in the Weyr. "You have been
attempting a relationship? Do you mind if I ask what about it you're
not getting right?"

"Well, long story short, I've been burned a lot in the past. Women
cheating on me and the like. So when I came to River Bluff... I had a
bit of a drinking problem. Roana doesn't really trust that my
alcoholism has gotten better, and right after I saw her with another
rider at lunch, we argued and I got extremely drunk," J'klin shook his
head. "I've been good at staying sober because of her, but without her
motivating me, I fall back into bad habits."

Briata stiffened. J'klin's experience sounded very much like her own,
only her husband hadn't tried to stay sober and she had been fortunate
to have B'lamick in her life. She nodded slowly and asked, "Have you
told her this? That she is a motivator for you? That for her, you
are willing to try but that you need her?"

"Well, that was the agreement that we had before, but like I said, the
first time I doubted out relationship I messed up. So I think I need
to find sobriety on my own, but it's very hard for us both," J'klin
said, sighing. "I want to be independent again. To not need someone,
or alcohol, in order to feel whole."

"What of your dragon?" Briata asked softly, her eyes lifting to
J'klin. "Surely you need him. And surely by drinking and getting
drunk, you harm him as well. Perhaps thinking of that might help aid
you in your quest." Her words were gentle, meant to encourage rather
than admonish. "It's not an easy thing. I can understand that."

J'klin cringed. "Nimyth tries to stop me when I drink. That's the
worst part about it. Knowing that he doesn't like it," he said softly.
"I just get so depressed, and down on myself that I don't care what my
actions do to others."

"Even to your dragon?" That didn't seem right. Not right at all. If
anything, it sounded a lot like what Traelyn had gone through, what
had driven her to make her want to take her and her dragon /between/.
Briata stiffened. "J'klin...don't feel that you have to do this
alone. We are not meant to be alone, even those of us who don't have
dragons. We are social creatures and we need each other. That is how
we are made, just how we are. When we try to do things alone, we will
fail."

"You're right. I do need help in this, it just can't be someone that
I'm in a relationship with," J'klin said. "Else every time we have
struggles, I am going to be tempted to drink again. I don't know, I
just haven't had much time to get to know anyone since I've been here,
I've been so closed in."

"You may come to me if you wish." Briata offered. They weren't in
any sort of a relationship at all, having just met. While it wasn't
the best solution since someone a little more familiar might be
better, the woman was willing to at least try. "And Nimyth is always
welcome to speak to me if you need help." That right there could be
very useful indeed.

"Thats... really nice of you," J'klin said, a bit stunned. "I'll make
sure Nimyth knows to contact you if I slip in any way, especially if I
know that there is a chance I might be tempted." Nimyth rumbled his
agreement, turning to nuzzle Briata once more.

}:Thank you,:{ He said to Briata. }:I appreciate you looking out for mine.:{

The brown received a gentle scritching in return. **I would do it for
you if nothing else.** It wasn't right for a rider to worry his
dragon so, and if she could help, Briata would be glad to do so for
that alone. "I hope that it will not come to that. May you have
strength to resist such temptation. However, I will be glad to be
there if needed."

"Thank you, and thank you for helping me with the tapestry as well.
Hopefully, between those two things, Roana will come to see how much I
truly care for her," J'klin said.

"Of course. I will work on a sketch and let you look at it before I
start putting it together." Briata always preferred that people be
happy with her work and communication was important. It was important
in a lot of things.

"That sounds great, I can't wait to see it!" J'klin said. Perhaps
things were starting to look up for him.

Last updated on the April 28th 2011

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Things Are Looking Up