World of Pern
Latest Updates

2023/08/04 Hello loves! While I haven't been writing, I have been working on updating some issues that have been hanging around on the layout! The Character change box is now at the bottom of the page, beside the up/down arrows! Green and Gold dragon flight dates have been shifted to the bottom of the page, where the (useless!) discord widget was located. Where the dragon flights were in the header, is now replaced by a Monthly Event box! This will be updated at the start of each month, with a fun mini-event you can take part in, if you want to! Thistle!
2023/01/07 Welcome to the New Year! We are now ELEVEN years old! Thank you, all of you, for your love and writing! I am looking forward to spending another year with youall! In addition, a new Default colour scheme is in progress and will hopefully be available soon! All my love! ThistleProse
2022/07/29 Gold Malvayth and Bronze Xyxyth clutch is Hatching! Come and join the shenannigans 743.08.03 | NIGHT STALKERS HATCHING and bring the popcorn!
2022/05/11 Gold Malvayth has Flown, caught by Bronze Xyxyth of A'tay. Their Hatching will be PC, and take place in Telgar in August around the 20-22nd! Update your Candidate Applications and prepare for some fun!
2022/04/21 New default layout! I hope you enjoy it! If you find any bugs, please report them in the discord #bug-squishing channel!
05/JUL It’s Hatching time!! Come take part in the shenanigans here
30/JUN Gold Thallyath of Ista Weyr has laid a clutch! More information here
27/JUN A bluerider, and then a greenrider, are found dead. More information here
25/JUN The Touching is up! Take part here
30/MAY After the Touching, many Candidates found themselves preyed upon in the form of their food. More information here
18/MAY Another goldrider - Ameris of Benden - is attacked. More information here
05/MAY Multiple individuals are attacked whilest out of the Weyr! More information here
04/MAY Take a chance OOC and guess who you think the murderer is! You can win prizes! More information here
03/MAY Goldrider Cazan and her twin brother Cazelarias are attacked. More information here
24/APR Goldrider Ashara of Fort is murdered by two brownriders. More information here
12/APR Searchrider B’jin was attacked at Telgar Weyr, surffering a slash to his throat. While in Benden, bluerider B’dor is found dead in his weyr. More info here
05/APRMore attacks occurred today. More information here
03/APRMultiple individuals found their death this day; more information here and here
28/MAR Tragedy has struck again! Across all the Weyrs, multiple people - primarily dragonriders - have fallen ill after eating muffins. There have been multiple deaths, and others are in criticle condition. More information here
24/MAR Weyrwoman Ameris and her son, Rislan, poisoned! More information here
18/MAR Benden’s Weyrleader M’ris and his children have been poisoned! Resulting in sickness and death. More information here
18/MAROn 18.03.742 Bronzerider A’dris of Vyaniorth was found dead in his personal bathing pool. He appears to have drowned after drinking an excess of alcohol. Afterwards it was realized that Machiya of Gold Cameth from Telgar Weyr had disappeared. Having never arrived at her destination, it is suspected she had an accident between.
11/MAR Gold Racoth of Donmaline went between taking Bronze Beruth of T’rel with her shortly after she had been caught, due to T’rel strangling Donmaline. He did not survive. more info
25/FEB Congratulations and thank-you to Guest for taking on a moderator role! <3
14/FEB Stars Above PC Hatching Link
06/JAN :o new layout is a WiP. Please report bugs in Discord.
01/JAN Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!




Currently: Spring 03.745 al
Monthly Event
2024-February
Details: Link

Welcome to the Month of Lovetm! This month's Monthly Event is all about Romance, whether it is asking someone out on a date, or getting sweaty between the sheets! Anything and everything counts, if it even looks sideways like it could be related to Valentine Day -- including lover's spats, or breaking up, Flights Wins (or Flight Losses!). Honestly, this month has a huge opportunity for interpertation, so go wild!



2023-December
Details: Link

Ahh, the fresh snow, the crisp air, the naked trees... welcome to Winter! Or, just the Colder Months for those in the more Northern Weyrs, while Ista is just... not as hot. But it is time to enjoy the end of the Turn, so folks should get together, spend some time gossiping, and drinking Hot Chocolate (alcohol and marshmallows opional)... does Pern even have marshmallows????? (they do now!)



2023-November
Details: Link

Feel like bitching? Wanna take part in a brawl? Or bet on someone? Take part in Brawls and Bitching this month! Boo-yeah!



2023-October
Details: Link

Thistle flunked this month; You can still post until the end of November as a result <3
Experience, tell or hide from a Spooky Story!



2023-September
Details: Link

The flu is running rampant, colds are clogging noses, and someone might have lost a limb?



2023-August
Details: Link

Partake this month by going fishing... or anything that occurs while fishing, or dealing with fish!



Latest Posts



The Good, The Bad [Private]

B'jin
of Green Larrikith

Date of Birth
23.06.683 AL, 61
Height
5'9
Eyes
Brown
Build
Sturdy, softly fit
Hair
Blonde, Silver

Threads
102
Posts
864

Written By: ThistleProse
#1
What time is it? B'jin asked with a frown, as the pair appeared from between in the inky darkness of night, the stars winking above them. I don't like time zones. Larrikith snorted softly as she swirled through the air, her mossy hide blending in nicely with the darkness, making her little more than a shadow blotting out the stars. The moons were hidden behind storm clouds, and B'jin shivered slightly; he didn't like the changes in temperature either. It is late, but I do not know how late. Its going to rain, too. Let's land. Home? Larrikith asked, turning her bejewelled eyes in that direction with a hopeful flare of emotion. No, best talk to Talian before I'm dragged away in chains. B'jin was resigned, but not unafraid of exactly how much trouble he was going to be in when (never if, he didn't feel he was ever likely to be that lucky) he was caught out. Despite that, B'jin did decide not to go slinking off to D'ren. He'd suck up whatever was passed off when the Weyrleader found out. Besides, if he didn't find out for months and months, then obviously it didn't do that much damage, did it? If B'jin told him now... well, every other damned rumour would be his fault. D'ren was fair, usually, but B'jin wasn't stupid. He'd caused too much trouble to get off without a lashing (or two) being grounded, and Faranth knows what else.

Oh, the joys of a consciences, Larrikith sighed dramatically, unconcerned about the reasoning behind why he would be in trouble. Besides, It was worth it, was it not? Yes, Than, is not the punishment worth it? B'jin smiled lightly, and brushed his fingers gently over Larrikith's neck as she landed lightly outside the Healer Hall. Dismounting with a stiff stumble as he landed, B'jin gave her shoulder a light pat and sent the dragon home, telling her he'd either walk back, or steal one of the empty beds in the Hall. Amused, Larrikith considered the options, before winking between to reappear just above R'nd's hut, and warbled a whispery greeting to Ayyonth as she landed. B'jin is with Talian, she murmured quietly to the blue as she padded over to join him.

B'jin slipped silently into the quiet hall, again wondering what the time was as he took in the lack of workers and the fact that most of the rooms were dark. It must have been quite late. Maybe he would be better off going home and talking to the boy when the sun was in the sky? Even as he paused, contemplating the trip to his hut, the clouds above opened and a heavy downpour began. B'jin raised his eyes to look at the roof, snorted, and continued on to find Talian's room. He most certainly was not walking home in the rain!

The familiar trek to the young Master Healer's quarters was done without thought, as B'jin's mind wandered over what else he had to do when the sun came up. He needed to find and apologise to R'nd for dumping Indamor on him, as well as check up on the boy and his mother to make sure they weren't grumpy with him. He knew Indamor probably was. Well, he'd brought  back a couple of little trinkets from the North for everyone, so maybe he could win himself a little positivety with them? Well, he'd try! He yawned mightily as brown eyes took in the darkness under Talian's door and he grimaced slightly. Ah, thread it all!

Knocking lightly twice on the door, B'jin gently pressed the door open a little, whispering softly as he did so. "Talian?" He was pretty sure the boy would be in, and was pretty sure he'd be alone. But he didn't want to just barge in. It wasn't polite! Whispering the boy's name again, B'jin slipped inside and closed the door tightly, peering around into the darkness.

"Tal?"

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Written By: ZZZ Archived
#2
Perched in the darkness a few dragonlengths away, a pair of bright eyes flashed out of sight. The large dragon curled discreetly out of sight, though he didn't assume that a dragon as clever as Larrikith would miss his presence. Not that it mattered. Tyrrisath had already seen everything he needed to see. He informed his bonded though images rather than words, those mental flickerings painted with hints of the dragon's grim amusement. He loved catching people with their hand in the cookie jar.

Before anyone could see him or before Larrikith could report his presence to B'jin, he vanished. He reached out to Rilaleeyth, warning her that her bonded may soon be called upon.

The evening was off to a glorious start.


Inside, Talian was scribbling something near-incoherent on some parchment. It mostly had to do with his own condition. He'd kept careful notes on his moods and thoughts ever since the incident last summer. He knew he was depressed and that medication wasn't really working, but he hoped if he could find some sort of other pattern in his 'symptoms', perhaps he could fix himself. Somewhere in the back of his head, he must have understood by now that medicine would never help him. He didn't want to consider that option, though. He still thought of it as his only real shot.

He reached for a half-empty bottle of wine and took a modest sip. It looked worse than it was; he'd been nursing the same bottle since sundown, resulting in a pleasant warm feeling in his gut, but little more. He yawned and looked back at his notes.

"Just the same old shit," he hissed loudly and bitterly, unaware of the presence lingering just on the other side of his door. He jumped a little bit at the soft knock and felt himself blushing, a little bit embarrassed that whoever had come calling had probably heard his outburst. The sweet little healer had been developing a notably bitter side over the past few months, but he'd taken great care to keep it to himself. He'd burdened everyone enough with his melancholy, did they really need to see this side of him, too?

Was this side of him just a replacement for his former unhappiness?

The healer frowned as he heard B'jin's familiar voice. He loved B'jin, but the man did tend to find him at the worst times of night. Tal looked ashamedly at his wine bottle, hoping B'jin wouldn't take it's half-empty state a a sign that his boy was in here getting drunk alone. That wasn't quite the idea. Klah just wasn't working anymore. Tal needed sleep, so at night, he'd taken to switching to alcohol.

"Hello, B'jin," Tal said lightly. He pushed his chair away from his desk and stood up. "...Is something wrong?" B'jin looked so sad! Tal's expression softened, forgetting his own problems as he took a few light steps towards the greenrider. Poor B'jin, always going through one trouble or another...





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B'jin
of Green Larrikith

Date of Birth
23.06.683 AL, 61
Height
5'9
Eyes
Brown
Build
Sturdy, softly fit
Hair
Blonde, Silver

Threads
102
Posts
864

Written By: ThistleProse
#3
Whether Larrikith noted the other dragon or not was debatable, her own mind firmly set on the notion of Ayyonth and sleep and warmth of the Southern continent. She was a little irked, that hunting the next day would cause more raised eyebrows than their rather dramatically extended 'hunting' trip that day. As a result, even if she had seen the brown, she had forgotten about it moments later, and B'jin was as far from her mind as the brown when the pretty blue and a sleeping place were reached.

B'jin hadn't heard Talian's little outburst, the pounding of the rain on the roof drowning out all but the sound of his own breath as he slipped through the doorway and his eyes adjusted to the muted light of the glows Talian had sitting with him at a desk. Eyebrows drew together when he realised the boy had been up working; he completely ignored the bottle of wine. If Talian were attempting to get drunk while home alone, he was doing it very late, or wasn't doing a very good job as brown eyes took in Talian's features and searched his eyes.

"Hey, love." B'jin's voice was a quiet murmur as he slipped closer to the young healer, quickly wrapped him up in a tight hug, and pressed a kiss to the top of his head. Huffing out a soft sigh, B'jin released Talian and gave him a gentle prod in the ribs and indicated that he'd want to reclaim his seat. B'jin himself, stole the desk. He gave Talian's pieces of writing one horrified glance, a theatrical shudder he wasn't even aware of twining down his spine as he carefully stacked the parchment and turned it upside down. Partly, it was done to respect the privacy of whomever it was written about; mostly it was done to retain his sanity. Amorandii had better writing!

The greenrider made himself comfortable, his long legs curled up under himself as he coiled up on the desk and waited until Talian had reclaimed his chair. Once he had, B'jin picked up the wine bottle and gave it to the young healer with an expressionless face. The kid would undoubtedly want it, in a moment, and while B'jin didn't actively want to encourage the whole "drink until I forget, and puke until I faint" ideal. Well. The kid could at least finish the one bottle. He didn't really think Talian was likely to have a stash of wine bottles hidden away to make himself sick with when B'jin wasn't looking anyway.

"I went to see your family." He spoke lowly, barely above a whisper and was very thankful for the pounding of rain. He honestly didn't want anyone to know where he had been, and between his low voice and the weather, he was pretty sure no one would overhear them unless Talian got excitable.

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Written By: ZZZ Archived
#4
Yes, something was definitely wrong. Tal watched with cautious sadness as B'jin approached, though the young healer had no strength to protest the gentle hug and careful placed kiss he received from the man. B'jin truly was a tender soul, so sweet and selfless even in the hardest times. Tal returned the gesture, squeezing B'jin tightly and hesitating for several long seconds before finally letting go.

Tal kept quiet, seating himself and accepting the wine bottle with no comment. He could tell when something serious was on B'jin's mind. As desperately as Talian often wanted to help the man, he'd come to accept B'jin's silence on most matter. B'jin was secretive, and Talian both respected and understood that. Now, however, he wondered what would prompt an obvious distressed B'jin to actually seek him out.

I went to see your family

Talian shuddered involuntarily. He'd known B'jin was going to go, but part of him hadn't expected it to actually happen. He trusted B'jin completely,m but the Weyrleadership was another matter. He'd expected the Weyrleader to stop B'jin, or...or something. But it had actually happened? B'jin didn't exactly look pleased, either. His voice was so quiet and he seemed so muted!

Talian immediately took a drink. Hhe watched B'jin anxiously for a moment, his tawny eyes filled with all manner of conflicting emotions, each visible in mere flickers by the dim glowlight.

"I...I see," Tal said with rigid poise, trying to contain himself. It was hard to sit quietly and remain calm with so much going on inside; anger, fear, excitement, dread! He swallowed hard and let out one of his trademark nervous laughs, but it was mostly drowned out by the drumming of raindrops. The little healer fell eerily silent and looked down the neck of the wine bottle, not sure what else to say.

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B'jin
of Green Larrikith

Date of Birth
23.06.683 AL, 61
Height
5'9
Eyes
Brown
Build
Sturdy, softly fit
Hair
Blonde, Silver

Threads
102
Posts
864

Written By: ThistleProse
#5
B'jin watched with a humerus smile ghosting over his lips as Talian took a drink from the wine bottle, brown eyes dark with his own self loathing as he waited for a verbal response from the young man. When it came, the dragonrider allowed the stumbled words to wash over him, gaze dropping to stare into his own lap at Talian's unhealthy laugh, wishing he had his own bottle of wine to drown himself in, but knowing if he started, he wouldn't stop. And Talian had seen him after serious drinking once, which was entirely too many times.

B'jin shifted subtly, and his gaze lifted to frown at Talian. His features were cautious now, wary of the way the healer seated before him would react. The problem being, of course, the simple fact that - "It's not all bad," which, in effect, made B'jin feel worse, and his guilt was fed into his voice, woven through every syllable. If he'd somehow come back with terrible news, perhaps he could have justified to himself the outcome of Talian's life, for in such a situation, would not Talian have been better at Katila with himself? Of course! But... the simple fact was, things back where Talian called home were good, but B'jin could only imagine they'd be better if he'd never brought Talian South.

"Y-you have a daughter," B'jin stuttered, gushing the words out as fast as he could, piling perhaps the most shocking piece of information he had to offer upon the boy whose life he'd single-handedly destroyed a turn ago. "I d-didn't see her up close, and I d-don't know her name." He was shaking, eyes wide as he stared imploringly at Talian, terrified of the reaction he was going to receive from the young man. "I couldn't!" He faltered. How was he meant to explain, to get Talian to understand that if he had so much as been within arms reach of the child, he would have swept it up and away, as if by bringing the child to his boy would make up for everything. How he knew it wouldn't, how that was the only reason the little girl wasn't wrapped up in his arms now?

B'jin wrapped his arms around himself, staring at Talian with wide eyes as he waited for an explosion he knew was to come, but unable to foretell what shape it would take.

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Written By: ZZZ Archived
#6
You have a daughter

Talian's expression was unchanged. He sat there in transfixed silence, his tawny eyes locked mercilessly on B'jin's as the information sank in. A daughter?

There were so many potential responses, so many emotions rushing wildly through his mind and heart. Was he angry? Sad? Worried? Who was the biggest victim of all? Was it really him, who would would probably never have a chance to see his little girl? Fiora, who'd live the shamed life of an unwed mother and probably suffer through a compromised career, all to raise the child of her disappeared partner? Or was it the little girl herself, who would never know her own father?

It figured, Tal thought. After all his careful efforts not to be like Talerian, he was still a deadbeat dad.

He sank a little bit in his seat, face unchanging as he lifted the bottle to his lips and took a drink. He closed his eyes, vaguely conscience of some tears dripping slowly from his eyes. His throat ached, too much to speak but not enough to cry. He appeared altogether tranquil, the only sign of his utter shock and cocktail of wild emotions coming from his white-knuckled grip on the bottle.

"No...I don't," he said at length, his voice quavering only slightly. He was the epitome of calm, his gaze steady and his fingers oddly still when normally they might have been twitchy and anxious. He realized in those long seconds that after such a long time away from home, with so many days and months dragging on, that he didn't much care anymore. He wanted to care, he really did. He wanted to explode. He wanted to scream at B'jin for doing this to him, but for what?

He knew he had a daughter, but he just didn't feel like it. He could pour over the situation with his mind and analyze it, he could assign blame and imagine outcomes or scenarios, but it didn't feel right. He wasn't there for the news. He hadn't watched as his partner's stomach swelled. He hadn't given her the medical care and guidance that he'd promised.  He hadn't felt the baby kick or held Fiora's hair back for her during morning sickness. He hadn't been there to panic when her water broke, or to hold her hand when she went into labor.

He wasn't there to hold the little girl now.

It wasn't his. It would never be his, not now.

He sighed, rubbing a couple errant tears away and cutting his eyes away from B'jin. His body was rigid and almost statue-like, but his eyes revealed his true feelings. He was crushed, so crushed that he could barely feel it himself. He was ashamed for this unexpected feeling of detachment, the inability to sob and explode like he felt he was supposed to. He just couldn't believe it. How could something like this have happened in such a short time? How could such a thing happen when he wasn't there?

Maybe he was just in shock. Maybe it could come crashing down on his head later and he'd feel like drinking himself to death. He took another drink of wine and wiped his eyes again. His eyes were watering more readily now, threatening to spill into gushing tears at any moment. That moment never came.

Instead, he shook his head and spoke in a strained voice: "I know her name...We picked out names a long time ago, one for a boy and one for a girl. We left mine out of both of them, since it's s-so close to my father's. We used hers and her mother's." He paused to swallow. His name was left out. Fiora had protested at first, saying that the father's name deserved to be part of the child's, but Tal couldn't stand the idea of his own father's name being perpetuated. It seemed like it was for the best now.

He slumped forward, resting one elbow on the table and rubbing his temples. "...It doesn't matter anymore, though. Thanks for telling me." His words were empty, barely hinting at the conflicted feelings lurking under his weary, far-stretched demeanor. It was bad news he expected, but he'd never been good at handling bad news. He finished off the bottle and let out another sigh; wait, he finished it? But hadn't he only taken a couple drinks in the last few moments?

Or had it been more?

"...I'm glad she's going to be all right, though," Tal added at the end. His voice softened slightly, lined with just a hint of affection. Love. That child would never truly be his, but he still loved her. He loved both of them. He always would. But he couldn't be part of their lives now, and pretending otherwise was going to kill him if he didn't stop.

It was over.

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B'jin
of Green Larrikith

Date of Birth
23.06.683 AL, 61
Height
5'9
Eyes
Brown
Build
Sturdy, softly fit
Hair
Blonde, Silver

Threads
102
Posts
864

Written By: ThistleProse
#7
B'jin watched, silent and shaking, as Talian reacted to his words. He didn't know what type of storm to expect, but he wasn't so optimistic as to expect no storm. You couldn't simply receive news such as the bombshell he'd dropped upon the young healer, and expect nothing to happen. But Talian was unpredictable, the news heavy, and B'jin was probably more terrified of how the boy would take it than he had been in a long time.

He didn't notice the drinking, for at that point it was irrelevant, and B'jin didn't want to draw attention to it, less it make Talian self conscious - or further encourage him to drink more. A parent's hypocrisy was all the leeway B'jin needed, to be highly disproving on any habit Talian might pick up that would have him using alcohol to dull pain. As if it ever worked. The greenrider's finger's twitched against his sides, arms still wrapped around himself, fearful of pressing himself into Talian's personal space when the young man wouldn't want his affections.

Talian's words cut through B'jin like a hot knife through butter, searing along the edges and leaving him with a gaping hole. The greenrider's face crumpled, and he bit his bottom lip fiercely, staring at Talian with wide, tearful eyes as he tried to figure out where the thoughts were taking him, what he was thinking, why he was thinking it. In reality, B'jin could related. Bendilam would never be his son, not in the way Talian was, not in the way Indamor was. He wasn't his child, for he had turned away from mother and baby, and never looked back.

This was different. He had taken Talian away from what might have been; he hadn't walked away from it. He knew the healer hated his current lot in life - how many times had B'jin sat patiently so Talian could fume and rage and rant, only to apologise for it later? How many time had B'jin apologised for the twist in fate that had caused their situations? He shuddered as Talian spoke of names, blood running cold down the length of his spine at the words. Fate. B'jin shuddered again, wondering how much belief he put in such a thing, and wondering if it mattered.

"She will," B'jin whispered, recalling the possessively wary Carys, the cheerful group of women, the bundle he could only assume was a dedicatedly wrapped child. The lack of Talian's father. He paused for a moment, sad eyes considering Talian quietly, before he told him of just those things, voice low and barely audible over the insistent pounding of the rain upon the roof. He didn't stop to think if the things he said would make or break Talian, because if he did, he knew he wouldn't say a word.

Talian deserved to know.

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Written By: ZZZ Archived
#8
Talian listened stoically to the news. It was a comfort to know that his sisters were involved; Fiora wouldn't be alone, and there would be three times the people (perhaps four, if the youngest got involved) to protect the little girl from Talerian. Not that he would care, though. The child was a female, and the old healer did his very best to ignore his own daughters. Why would he show any interest in Talian's?

It was for the best that the child was a girl. It wouldn't suffer from Talerian's attentions, and perhaps it wouldn't suffer from Talian's own childhood curse quite as much; the lack of a father. Tal figured both gender children would benefit from having a good father, but he had no experience with being a girl without a dad. He knew all too much what if felt like to be a boy without a dad. Maybe his little girl would be better than he had? Maybe? Or even better, maybe Fiora would find a good dad to replace him. As much as it stung to think about, the young man hoped so.

"I'm glad," he said, voice still constricted. He hastily set the wine bottle on the edge of his table. It rocked back and forth for a moment, but his reflexes were too slow to save it. It toppled, hitting the floor with a loud crash and shattering into several large shards.

Tal's nostrils flared a little as he looked down at it, uncaring. Whatever. He'd pick it up later.

He rubbed his eyes again, refusing to let himself cry. Now that the news had sunk in, he thought he probably could. He didn't want to, though. Especially not in front of B'jin. Tal wanted so very much to be angry at the greenrider, but how could he? B'jin had risked a lot to bring him this information and had been so patient and kind to him over the last turn.

As he sat there pondering his next reaction, frozen as if in terror, he finally felt the emotion drain out of him. It really was over. Fiora would take good care of her daughter. She would move on and replace him, and he would do the same. The connection just wasn't there anymore. He couldn't believe it. It was like it had been forcibly ripped out of him, torn away by a piece of news that cut like one of his surgical tools.

He sighed and rubbed his eyes again. They were red and puffy now. "...I'm going to bed," he groaned as he rose to his feet. He didn't exactly want to, but what else could he do? He was caught somewhere in between drunkenness and numbness, and anything he said to B'jin would do nothing except spiral into self-loathing. B'jin didn't need to hear it. Tal didn't want to think about it. What was the point? Better to just go and sleep it off.

It would never go away, but it didn't hurt like it used to. It reminded him of when he was young and not yet used to pricking himself with his medical tools. It hurt at first, but he eventually got used to it. Patients who had to have fingers removed would miss them at first, but eventually it felt normal.

So that was that. He staggered a little bit as he stood, realizing at once how tipsy he was. He'd really killed that last half of the wine bottle. It hit him all at once, making him dizzy and warm.


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B'jin
of Green Larrikith

Date of Birth
23.06.683 AL, 61
Height
5'9
Eyes
Brown
Build
Sturdy, softly fit
Hair
Blonde, Silver

Threads
102
Posts
864

Written By: ThistleProse
#9
B'jin flinched visibly as the wine bottle toppled off the desk and smashed onto the floor, though he had made no move to touch the bottle, and though he twitched, he didn't follow through with the action to slip to the floor and clean up the mess. Instead, he remained curled up timidly on the table, eyes glazed with tears as he stared at the broken mess on the floor. He couldn't prevent the likening of the broken bottle to the young man before him. Uprooted. Unstable. Empty. Broken.

B'jin unwound himself delicately from his seat on the desk when Talian announced he was going to go to bed, and slipped quietly from the surface, standing with a quiet, broken expression himself as he watched Talian scramble to his feet, the wine very obviously hitting him as he did so. The greenrider reached out gently, slipping one hand under Talian's elbow to help him stand steady.

When he was sure the young healer wasn't going to topple onto his arse, B'jin released the gentle grip he had on him. However, instead of slipping away, the greenrider stepped closer, wrapping his arm around Talian's shoulders and steering him gently in the direction of the boy's room. B'jin hadn't intended to hang around; in all honesty, he'd had every intention of high tailing out of there when he realised Talian just wanted to be left alone. Even oblivious as B'jin could be, that wasn't a particularly difficult desire to pick up on.

Instead, when they got into the room, B'jin shoved (delicately) the shock riddled young healer so he seated himself on the bed, and tugged his boots off. Rising, B'jin kicked his own boots off and sat beside him on the bed, and wrapped him back up in a hug. Pressing his forehead into Talian's hair, B'jin murmured those words he felt he said far too often, but none the less meant every time. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

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Written By: ZZZ Archived
#10
Tal didn't fight B'jin as the greenrider took his arm, or as he was so delicately steered down the hallway to his bed. Tal was a compliant boy, generally following orders without much fuss. How could he be expected to put up a fight in extraordinary circumstances? He trudged along, his feet occasionally dragging with the extra weight from the alcohol, before finally they arrived at his room.

As soon as they entered, Tal attempted to slam the door in B'jin's face. It was a snap reaction, born of frustration and anxiety, but it hadn't exactly been intentional.  Tal didn't expect B'jin to stay. When he did, Tal's eyes widened and his face softened sheepishly as he realized what he'd almost done. He paused, eyes still moist and vision blurred, before looking away and creeping towards his bed. As he seated himself, he realized B'jin was still guiding him.

The young man sat there for several long seconds as he felt B'jin's ever-warm embrace wrapping around him. As badly as the boy wanted to be left alone and have all reminders of his situation taken away from him, he couldn't resist that embrace.  He leaned into the hug and closed his eyes, his heart pounding as he heard those words.

B'jin had apologized to him many times. Tal didn't  believe the greenrider at first, who otherwise seemed so proud of his cruel work. Part of Tal didn't think he'd ever completely forgive B'jin for what he'd done. If anything or anyone was worth it, though, it was B'jin. Tal frowned, looking back at the greenrider with wide, distressed eyes.

"It's okay," he lied. He smiled a little bit, the most pitifully unfit attempt of a smile he'd ever made, before breaking out into a horrible laugh. It was mild and brief, and wreaked of insincerity. He wanted to keep reassuring B'jin, to let him know that he didn't need to be coddled right now. B'jin had done enough for him, he had his own issues to worry about!

And yet here he was. B'jin was such a better father than Talerian ever was, ever would or could be. Tal pitched forward and threw his arms around the man, hanging on for dear life.

"I love you."

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B'jin
of Green Larrikith

Date of Birth
23.06.683 AL, 61
Height
5'9
Eyes
Brown
Build
Sturdy, softly fit
Hair
Blonde, Silver

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102
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864

Written By: ThistleProse
#11
B'jin smiled gently, but there was no humour in the expression as he raised an eyebrow at Talian's rather blatant little lie. He said nothing as the boy gave breath to the horrible giggle. B'jin leaned into the young man leaning against him and snorted a soft breath of humorous laughter into Talian's hair. "You're as bad a liar as I am." The greenrider's voice was soft, a gentle murmur, audible only because of the close proximity. At least it wasn't storming, though the rain gave no appearance to letting up. It was for the best, no one would look for him (he had no illusions to R'nd leaving his warm bed to seek him out; besides which, he had babysitting to apologise for before R'nd would even consider seeking him out. He was sure of it!)

"Mm," B'jin hummed softly, twining one leg under Talian's even as he toppled backwards onto the bed, taking the clinging young man down with him, and using his own leg to carry Talian's up onto the bed. Unlike how such an action would be used on R'nd, B'jin's grip was light and contained no excess of intimacy as he curled up comfortably and tugged Talian against his chest, his voice soft and hoarse as he murmur-sang a gentle lullaby, not even aware of the words leaving his lips.

"Sleep," B'jin purred, voice soft and warm as he spoke at the end of the last gentle word, retaining a one armed grip around Talian as the other reefed the bedfurs out from under their bodies, and he tugged it up over their bodies. Tomorrow didn't hold the promise of being any better, and B'jin wouldn't tell Talian that it would. But he would be there for whatever nightmares corrupted the young healer's sleep, and if not better, at least the rising dawn couldn't be too much worse.

Right?

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Written By: ZZZ Archived
#12
Tal didn't resist as he felt B'jin pull him down. He felt safe with B'jin, safer than he ever had with anyone in his life except for her. He'd better trust B'jin, because she was gone now. As he sank into the covers beside B'jin, Tal took a moment to think about that strange comparison. The feelings were different, that was sure.  He loved Fiora and he loved B'jin, but it was a different kind of love. B'jin could never replace her. No one could.

No one would ever, ever replace her. Tal swallowed hard and leaned willingly into B'jin, clutching tightly to the man. How had it come to this again? Crying in B'jin's shoulder over such things?

Talian relaxed at length, his body quivering lightly with unshed tears. B'jin's lullaby was oddly soothing. For a boy who'd never been much of a child, it was nice to be treated like one every so often. "I love you," the healer whispered, still squeezing B'jin like his life depended on his grip.

It was nice to be treated like a child, but Talian had no intentions of acting like one anymore. This was the end of the road; his one last chance to mourn his family before the sting faded to numbness. It would never be okay. He would never forgive the Weyr for it's crimes against him. He would never stop loving her, or their little girl. But if he kept clinging to her across the ocean, he wasn't going to last much longer. He would drown himself.

In spite of his best efforts, he finally broke out into audible tears. He held himself against B'jin and exhausted himself with his wretched sobs, his senses and wits blurred by wine and memories. He wasn't sure how long it went on. It was wordless and intense, broken only by occasional gasps for breath.

What would Fiora do with her life now? What would her little girl grow up to be like? Tal realized then that it wasn't his place to wonder anymore. He wouldn't ever know, and that was best. They were making it without him. He would have to do the same. Bitterness permeated him, but at the same time, the mere thought of a child was alien to him.

It reminded him of the time he'd visited his old room at home after moving to Healer Hall. It was his room. His things were still there and it looked the same, but something was off. It was never quite the same after he moved out. It wasn't right anymore, it wasn't home. B'jin's news left the same uncomfortable feeling. Things would never be the same again.

Guess I'm over her now. Shards, he couldn't even imagine holding her in his arms anymore. They were dead.

Eventually, his energy was drained. He fell still and silent, awake but ultimately indifferent. He sighed and slumped. "I'm tired, B'jin..." he murmured. "...Thanks for staying with me. You didn't have to." He didn't explain, but he knew well that such an episode was much better with B'jin at his side. B'jin surely knew, too. The healer sighed and pulled one of his pillows under his head. "...I'm going to try to get some sleep, okay? I..."

What was he even trying to say?

"...I dunno. Good night, dad."

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