15.Mar.12, 01:33 AM
If Erisi could have stopped Talian, he would have. The Harper didn't even want to be here to begin with, so why would he want his friend to witness someone he valued get hurt? Nevermind that B'jin had saved Talian's life, so whatever suffering the man was made to endure, Talian would to a degree feel himself. Erisi didn't care for B'jin - he was a Searchrider, and that sort of prejudice was hard for Erisi to conquer. B'jin had Searched Talian to begin with, so if the man had just let the Healer remain at home, Talian wouldn't have tried to end his life here at Katila. He only felt for B'jin because Talian did, and he felt a great deal for his companion.
So, when Valerian glared at him, all he could do in response was shrug his shoulders helplessly. He had tried to convince Talian that keeping away from this event was a good idea, but the Healer had been convinced. If Valerian wanted to blame him for failing to stop Talian, then he could go right ahead. Perhaps Valerian was even right to. Erisi, however, was in no mood to argue about it. The expression on his face spoke enough for how he was feeling. Valerian was smart enough not to press him, because right now Erisi did not need to be pressed.
He was standing beside Talian, but he did not watch the whipping. His gaze was carefully diverted away, though he very well could hear the sound of the whip cracking against human flesh. The sound was horrible to hear, but at least it wasn't coupled with a visual. One look at Talian showed that the Healer decided to brave through the show, and bear witness to it. Talian shouldn't even be out of Healer Hall, in Erisi's opinion. He was just going to make himself mentally weak. With mental weakness came crippling physical weakness, neither of which Talian could afford to experience right now. The Healer had barely survived the attempt to kill himself, and Erisi was concerned that any sort of stress would put his friend over the edge again.
Talian had said he would never try it again, but Erisi was... cautious, distrusting even. Who really knew if Talian could fight the urge to die away again?
It was over, though Erisi refused to acknowledge that he had been counting the lashes so he would know that it had ended. Only when the sound of whip against flesh dissipated did he dare a glance back to B'jin. It was just a brief look, but it was enough to make his stomach churn. Larrikith had tried to assure them that it would be all right, and while B'jin would recover well enough from a physical beating, it didn't make doing so right. This all sat poorly with Erisi, and while the Harper had a fair bit of self preservation inside of him, sometimes his opinionated side won out.
Even noticing S'kef's eyes lingering on him, while unnerving and a little sickening, was not enough to dissuade Erisi from taking action. This was especially true when S'kef had it in mind to threaten Talian.
Sometimes his anger won out. Those were never good days. "Keep an eye on Tal for me for a little bit," he said quickly to Valerian before proceeding to weave through the crowd. If D'ren was expecting discontent, Erisi should have been the first person he thought of. Erisi never intended to get into trouble - it just happened. Either he couldn't keep his mouth shut, or his emotions in check. Both of those things were playing against him.
"D'ren." He wasn't yelling, or even calling D'ren by his title, but still was commanding the Weyrleader's attention. And he would have it - may S'kef be thrown and lost in between. "Is this how you're going to make everyone feel better and come together, by allowing them to be whipped by some sadistic whoreson?"
At least he wasn't... yelling?
So, when Valerian glared at him, all he could do in response was shrug his shoulders helplessly. He had tried to convince Talian that keeping away from this event was a good idea, but the Healer had been convinced. If Valerian wanted to blame him for failing to stop Talian, then he could go right ahead. Perhaps Valerian was even right to. Erisi, however, was in no mood to argue about it. The expression on his face spoke enough for how he was feeling. Valerian was smart enough not to press him, because right now Erisi did not need to be pressed.
He was standing beside Talian, but he did not watch the whipping. His gaze was carefully diverted away, though he very well could hear the sound of the whip cracking against human flesh. The sound was horrible to hear, but at least it wasn't coupled with a visual. One look at Talian showed that the Healer decided to brave through the show, and bear witness to it. Talian shouldn't even be out of Healer Hall, in Erisi's opinion. He was just going to make himself mentally weak. With mental weakness came crippling physical weakness, neither of which Talian could afford to experience right now. The Healer had barely survived the attempt to kill himself, and Erisi was concerned that any sort of stress would put his friend over the edge again.
Talian had said he would never try it again, but Erisi was... cautious, distrusting even. Who really knew if Talian could fight the urge to die away again?
It was over, though Erisi refused to acknowledge that he had been counting the lashes so he would know that it had ended. Only when the sound of whip against flesh dissipated did he dare a glance back to B'jin. It was just a brief look, but it was enough to make his stomach churn. Larrikith had tried to assure them that it would be all right, and while B'jin would recover well enough from a physical beating, it didn't make doing so right. This all sat poorly with Erisi, and while the Harper had a fair bit of self preservation inside of him, sometimes his opinionated side won out.
Even noticing S'kef's eyes lingering on him, while unnerving and a little sickening, was not enough to dissuade Erisi from taking action. This was especially true when S'kef had it in mind to threaten Talian.
Sometimes his anger won out. Those were never good days. "Keep an eye on Tal for me for a little bit," he said quickly to Valerian before proceeding to weave through the crowd. If D'ren was expecting discontent, Erisi should have been the first person he thought of. Erisi never intended to get into trouble - it just happened. Either he couldn't keep his mouth shut, or his emotions in check. Both of those things were playing against him.
"D'ren." He wasn't yelling, or even calling D'ren by his title, but still was commanding the Weyrleader's attention. And he would have it - may S'kef be thrown and lost in between. "Is this how you're going to make everyone feel better and come together, by allowing them to be whipped by some sadistic whoreson?"
At least he wasn't... yelling?