730.12.13 | Food. Meh. [B'jin]

Talian rubbed his eyes for a moment as B'jin finally released him. Somehow, he felt better. Crying was an excellent way to released pent-up feelings, but as emotional as the young man was, crying still didn't come easily to him. It made him feel weaker when he already considered himself weak. He sniffled again and reached for the mug of klah, the same one he'd rejected before.

He took a long drink while he listened to B'jin's tentative advice. "Relax?" he said, throat hoarse and clogged from the crying. He cleared it sharply before taking another drink. In two swoops, he'd already downed nearly half the mug. He wasn't sure what B'jin meant by 'relax'. He didn't get angry, though. Even if he wanted to take offense to the statement, he was far too drained to bother. "That's a tall order," he finally commented. He slumped back in his seat and rocked his head backwards, turning his eyes up to the ceiling. "...I don't like this place," he added, though he didn't bother to elaborate. That much should be obvious to the greenrider by now, he figured. No need to belabor the point.

"...I'm a good healer, though," he added afterwards. That was something. Well, when it came down to it, that was everything. He didn't have much else to go on. "...I don't suppose there's any way of getting out of this dragonrider thing? I..." He decided not to emphasize how much he disliked the hideous things. "...I think I'd make a very poor one.." he said. With a sigh, he took another gulp of klah. He seemed to welcome the physical contact, even though he'd since stopped clinging to the greenrider. He liked physical contact more than he cared to admit, and getting a big hug was just what he'd needed.

B'jin laughed softly, the sound bitter, as he gaze stared out blankly before him. He didn't turn to look at Talian, even as he muttered a reply to the boy's dour words. "A lot of us don't," his gaze turned to look at Talian, and he raised an eyebrow slightly. He didn't bother to elaborate on who 'us' was - if Talian decided to search around, he would likely discover that a healthy portion of Katila were unhappy with the living arrangements and their Southern banishment. There were, of course, the louder portion who loved their home (like Larrikith!) while those that didn't tended to sulk in silence, or at least, not openly rebell. Rebelling hadn't gone down well in the past, but B'jin wasn't quite sure Talian was ready to hear about Katila's rocky history just yet.

"Of course you are," he soothed, not in the least condecending, even as amusement touched the edge of his words. More, he was slightly surprised that Talian needed to even say such a thing, and wondered if the boy were reassuring himself more htan he was reminding B'jin of who he was. Smiling gently, B'jin offered Talian his own untouched mug of klah. He wouldn't drink it. When Katila had been established, and Klah ahd been made available once more, there were a gorup of them that had over dosed on the drink, so delighted to have it back. B'jin had been one of them. His body had objected terribly, and whiel he did drink it, he tended not to bother with more than three quarters of a mug. He just couldn't really stomach it any more.

A frown controted his face, however, as Talian brought up his next question. Leaning back against his seat, B'jin pondered his reply thoughtfully before he glanced at the little healer and pursed his lips. "I don't know," he admitted softly. "I will see what I can do. Nirinath hasn't flown since '27, so she should fly soon - but I do not know her rutine." He shook his head, still frowning. Larrikith, and her fellow greens, at least flew once a turn, and they very rarely strayed from their rutine. Nirinath had taken everyone - including Tsuen - by surprise with her first Katilan flight. B'jin had no doubt she'd do so again.

"Hrm. For now, I wouldn't worry too much, if you can help it," he offered, shrugging slightly. "We'll speak again when Nirinath flies, and arrange something then. How does that sound?"

Talian had settled down. His tears finally dried and he was in better control of himself, though his little outburst exaggerated the bags he already had under his eyes. He suddenly noticed just how tired he was. He'd been walking a tightrope ever since his arrival. In some sense, he was finally able to relax.

He cut his eyes towards B'jin and examined the man for a few long moments. He was slightly embarrassed, yes, but more than anything he was relieved. Plenty of weight remained, but at least some of it had been lifted. He still doubted that he would ever be able to forget that B'jin was instrumental in his uprooting, but right now he was inexplicably happy to have the man at his side. "That would be...fantastic," he said.

He looked directly at B'jin, tawny eyes at once weighed down with sadness and warm with gratitude. "...Thank you for coming to check on me," he said, his voice settling into a near-whisper. "I figured you were just pretending to care back on the island, like it was your job or something. But I don't know..even though you're the one who did this to me, you've already been..." he paused, realizing he was talking about his personal life. He glowered with a bit of distaste. Now wasn't really the time, but he'd already started.

He buried his face in his hands. "...better to me than the Master back home was. Or Talerian." Of course, only minutes before he'd compared B'jin to these men...but the greenrider came out favorably. Even morose Talian could admit that. He laughed weakly and, for the first time, smiled. "...You called me 'Tal' a minute ago. That's what someone special back home used to call me. Did your dragon tell you to, or did you jut come up with it by coincidence?" he asked.

"Consider it done," B'jin replied softly, a smile slowly warming his face. He raised his arm to encircle Talian's shoulders from where he'd been rubbing his back, and gave the healer a one-armed hug to seal the deal on the words he'd spoken. He left his arm looped casually around Talian's shoulders as he watched the young man with curiosity. His thanks caused B'jin some confusion, and as he continued, B'jin's features changed from mildly confused to totally bewildered.

His jaw moved a few times, attempting to articulate some kind of answer to Talian's odd revelation, and failed miserably. "Pretend?" he finally choked out, looking horrified at the very idea. B'jin wasn't entirely sure he'd ever pretended to do anything in his entire life. He did what he did because it was what he did. He wasn't one of those Harpers, that put on a façade to get the better of other people, or find out information that had to be found. If B'jin was going to get info, he was going to get it by being himself! Hurt, B'jin let his arm slip from Talian's shoulders and put his hands together in his lap, not looking at the boy.

Talian's laugh caused B'jin to flinch, who while he head heard what Talian had said about him in regards to the two men he'd mentioned earlier, wasn't exactly sure how much better he was doing. So, he came out favourably to the two biggest influences in torturing the young man that sat beside him? B'jin really wasn't sure that was anything to brag about. Anyone could do better than them! Besides, the kid had compared him to them a moment ago. He lifted his eyes almost timidly to glance at Talian, but his expression changed quickly to puzzlement at seeing a favourable expression on the healer's face, and he blinked in confusion at the smile.

Kid looked good when he smiled; it opened his face up and made him look less dour and B'jin could relate better to someone that smiled. "I did?" He blinked again. "Larri rarely tells me things of use." He added, still confused. B'jin wasn't really one to shorten names; it had taken Turns before he shortened Larrikith to Larri, and much longer to get used to being called 'B'jin' - he was rather fond of his full name.

"I just like hearing it," he admitted, his voice both fragile and relaxed. He felt a good deal better than he had, though he was still ignoring his future at Katila like some sort of wound that hadn't gotten infected yet.

No, that wasn't right. It was more like being cut with a sharp knife. It didn't hurt at first, but one could stare at it in horror for a few long moments knowing it was about to.

Talian felt better just the same. His smile lingered as he looked back at B'jin. He could tell he'd done something to confuse the other man, but he chalked it up to B'jin not expected to actually succeed in whatever he was trying to do. Tal's acceptance of the gesture was as much general submission as anything, but he was relieved. At least he had someone to talk to, and in a weird sense,knowing B'jin felt guilt for what he'd done was a small consolation as well. The greenrider wasn't a monster after all.

He leaned close and have B'jin another quick hug. "...Thanks," he said again, not bothering to elaborate on anything. He could explain timidly and probably ineffectively, or he could just say it again and reinforce it.

He slowly rode to his feet. "I'm...awfully tired," he admitted. The bags under his eyes were even more exaggerated now. What a day it had been so far, and it wasn't even afternoon yet!