Can't put it off forever... ((Attn: Jah'vi))

So, eventually, Br'son made his way to Nolinth's ledge.

the Weyrsenior eyed the bronze for a moment, and then gave him a shrug and a short bow.

"Afternoon, Nolinth," Br'son said, not really expecting an answer. "Himself is inside, I take it?" He gave the bronze a smile and then turned toward the entrance, confident that Yllaveth would stop him if Jah'vi didn't want to be seen.

"Jah'vi?" Br'son called out. "You alive in here?"

Nolinth made an amused sound as Br'son passed him, obviously still full of himself. He'd let his rider continue sleeping, and that was his best behavior of far as he was concerned.

"Mhmm," came a sleepy reply from the bed. Jah'vi opened his eyes and frowned; H'den had escaped the some point. He'd wrapped himself up in his furs but it just wasn't the same. "I'm alive, despite my best efforts last night." He was able to laugh about it this time.

He thew up on me, Nolinth said dryly, obviously not at that into yet.

Br'son jumped a bit at the sound of Nolinth's voice in his head. Yllaveth was still asleep, luckily for the bronze. She didn't take well to others addressing her rider directly.

"Yeah, well. I'm glad to hear that," the Weyrsenior said. "I'm coming in," he announced, and then suited actions to words.

Jah'vi's weyr was disheveled at best. Random bits of clothing and footgear lay strewn about. As ever, though, his riding straps hung neatly on their pegs by the entrance. The bed was far too rumpled for only one occupant, but there was no sign of anyone else nested there. Only Jah'vi.

"Hey," Br'son said, suddenly unsure where to start. "I... uh... wanted to talk to you."

H'den, the amazing scarlet rider, had left him some food and klah on his bedside table. He unwrapped himself from the blankets, cursing when the furs tangled in his legs, but finally got free. He sat cross legged in the mess of bedding, looking a bit puzzled for a moment as to why it was such a disaster. He could have sworn he'd gotten it made this morning.

"So come talk," he said, an easy grin on his face. He'd grabbed a fruit from the plate and poured a cup of klah, which wasn't too horribly cold. That he offered to Br'son, manners and all that.

His conversation with H'den earlier had eased his worries, but they were rushing back now. Had Br'son come to tell him personally he was being sent North?

Br'son hesitated for just a moment, but then shrugged and went to sit next to Jah'vi on the bed. There was really no reason he should be so nervous. It was Jah'vi after all. The bronzerider had been his best friend since the day that Yllaveth and Nolinth broke shell together. And it wasn't like he had a big secret to confess or anything it was just...

"Sh'lor's a man," he blurted out, all kinds of awkwardly.

Jah'vi raised one eyebrow in mock surprise, though his smile lacked the normal coyness and flirting. "Yes, he is," he answered, pouring himself a cup of klah, trying to gather his thoughts.

"How do you feel?" he asked finally, his voice a little tentative and not bothering to hide the concern on his face. Flights were a rough way to experience anything for the first time, and Sh'lor had never struck him as the gentle type. He'd noticed Br'sons slight hesitation, and made sure to keep space between two of them. It was a perfect excuse to put the tray of various light snacks on the bed.

"Fine...Oh! No, nothing like that. I'm fine, Jahv," Br'son said, doing his best to give a reassuring smile. "It's just... you know. After Yllaveth's first flight, I couldn't take my eyes off of Sidran for a day and a half. I felt... I had to have her. And judging by her response, the feeling was mutual," he added with a bit of a smug smile.

"But this is different," he said, letting the smile slip away to be replaced by a soft thoughfulness. "I mean, I certainly enjoyed the flight, but I don't feel really anything in the nature of desire for Sh'lor. I want to work with him, and make the Weyr better, but... that's it." He shrugged, then looked up at his friend.

"I don't know what to do with this."

Jah'vi relaxed, feeling like a weight had been lifted. At least that wasn't a problem. Not that it negated the hundreds of other problems they had now...

"You know about the problems I had with him," he said slowly, choosing his words carefully. He was speaking of the Weyrleader after all. "But Yvalleth knows what the Weyr needs, right? We need to be unified, and he's obviously the one to unify us."

Maybe that stung a bit, that he wasn't going to be unifying the Weyr, especially when sometimes it seemed he was the only one interested in doing so. But Yvalleth had chosen.

"Casriel and her friends will be very angry," he continued in a subdued tone. "You'll have to deal with that sooner than later. But at least Eastern riders should follow you easily, now."

These were all things Br'son knew. He just needed reminding. Yvalleth had chosen well the day she hatched.

Br'son nodded. A bit of sadness punched at him. Yllaveth had chosen... but why hadn't she chosen Nolinth? He seemed an obvious choice if the queen wanted an Easterner... after all, he'd led them before...

But maybe that was it. Maybe Yllaveth was trying to move beyond that, and give Jah'vi and Nolinth a chance to figure out who they were without the spectre of death and plague...

The Weyrsenior shook his head. This was getting him nowhere.

"I know all of that," he said. "And I'll deal. I can handle Casriel. I can certainly handle Sh'lor. What I want to know is... do I have to 'handle' you? You've always been by my side, buddy, even when they cast us out. I know you would have come with us if they'd have let you. Don't think I don't know that the queen inhibited Nolinth from following. Will you remain by my side now? Even with a brownrider for a Weyrleader?"

Jah'vi gave the Weyrsenior an odd look, then burst into laughter. "You're right about the queen," he said, amused that he was so easy to predict. "And I'm a little offended that you have to even ask that." He reached over and squeezed Br'sons knee gently, smiling a little more kindly now. "Even if you weren't my Weyrsenior, you're my best friend. I'll always stand by your side."

A weight that Br'son hadn't even known he carried lifted off of his shoulders. He clapped his hand over Jah'vi's, then uttered a rough curse and pulled the other man into a hug. This had the potential to get awkward, of course, given Jah'vi's state of undress and... well... Jah'viness. But whatever. Br'son needed his friend, and his friend was there. That deserved a hug.

For a moment Jah'vi froze in surprise. He was the touchy feely cuddly one, and this sudden switch surprised him. Not that he hadn't privately entertained thoughts of Br'son embracing him since his arrival at White Lightning, but still.

Confusing emotions weren't really important, though. He hugged back tightly with a grin, clapping the titan rider on his back. "Guess this means Sh'lor isn't planning on shipping me North?" He told himself the odd catch in his voice was from leaning over the tray in between them, and not any emotion.

"Not that he's told me about," Br'son said. "I doubt Yllaveth would allow it, anyway. We need every pair for fall, and Nolinth's a master Thread tactician. Sh'lor needs you, to be quite frank. I'm sure he realizes it... or if he doesn't, he's about to."

Br'son shook his head. "I don't want to talk about politics any more," he said. "Tell me something else. Who joined you here for the flight? Anyone I know?"

Jah'vi grinned a little, still green enough to be flattered at being praised for his work. He'd certainly done his best to learn all he could in the time they'd had.

Br'sons question took him aback slightly, and he looked down at the rumpled bed, as well as belatedly realized he still wasn't wearing a shirt. No, this looked bad. "Heh," he forced a chuckle out, face turning red as he tried to look anywhere but at Br'son.

What, was he just supposed to flat out say he'd been so angry to lose Br'son to another male rider that he'd drank himself into a stupor before passing out? Aside from not wanting to admit that jealousy, he didn't want him to worry.

"No one, actually," he admitted. "Nolinth got H'den to come by earlier, make me eat something... then I fell back asleep." He shrugged his shoulders, still blushing. The story of him retreating from a flight alone was not going to be good for his reputation.

"Hmph," Br'son said. "It's so outrageous I almost believe you. I'll have to thank H'den. I wouldn't want you throwing up on me like you did on poor Nolinth."

That got a full out laugh, and more blushing. "Yah I don't think he's going to let me live that down," he said, a little chagrined that Nolinth had shared that particular incident. But also not surprised, considering it was Nolinth. "I said I was sorry and I cleaned you up right away!" he called to the bronze on the ledge.

He only got a humph in return and his easy grin was back when he looked at Br'son. "So I might have drank a little too much." Or a lot. He'd definitely learned his lesson on pacing himself, though. He hadn't been hung over since he was nothing more than a weyrbrat candidate.

Well, it had been a rough night, he reminded himself. And one he wouldn't repeat again, no matter how angry or jealous he was.

Br'son chuckled at that, and then sobered immediately. He let out a gusty sigh and leaned back on the bed.

"Bloody shells, Jah'vi. I thought flights were supposed to answer questions, not create more of them. But here we are. And more questions yet ahead." He put the heels of his hands over his eyes and pressed down, hoping that maybe it would help to calm his whirling mind.

It didn't seem to do the trick, at least not right away.

"And then there's Sidran," he said, a bit of misery leaking into his voice.

Jah'vi sighed and shifted, tray of food forgotten, so he was sitting a little closer to Br'son, back against the makeshift headboard. "I think they always caused more trouble and questions than they solved," he said, pulling his knees up under his chin and chewing at his bottom lip. "We just didn't realize it until we were the ones calling the shots and dealing with the consequences first hand."

He put his hand on Br'sons shoulder and squeezed it, letting out another sigh. Of course, Sidran. He hadn't missed that Gavath was absent from the flight. That pained note in his voice made his stomach twist.

He would never cause Br'son to have that misery in his voice, he thought, a little saltily.

Br'son clapped his hand over Jah'vi's, thankful for his friend's reassuring touch.

"Yeah, it sucks. I don't know if she's angry at me or what. All I know is she wasn't there and..." He clammed up, not wanting to sound disloyal to his new Weyrleader. Sh'lor deserved his support and solidarity... even if Br'son had wished he had been Sidran.

He shrugged. "I should probably go talk to her, eventually."

And Sh'lor had won, Jah'vi finished silently, trying his best to keep his face neutral. Though Gavath being there might not have made a difference... Yllaveth had definitely made the choice she wanted to make in that flight.

When he continued on the subject of Sidran, Jah'vi pulled his hand away slowly and wrapped his arms around his legs, head resting on his knees. "It's better to get things out in the open and not let them fester," he said. "I'm sure she had her reasons for not being there, though. Should be an easy conversation."

The two were quite fond of each other, after all. And he wanted Br'son to be happy.

"Yeah, I hope so," Br'son said. "And you're right. I should just go talk to her and find out what was so blasted important."

He opened his eyes and smiled a real smile, perhaps his first one since the flight.

"Hey man," he said. "Thanks. I don't say it enough, but I genuinely don't think I could do this without you."

Even though it felt like a runner had just kicked him in the gut, Jah'vi forced himself to smile back. "Hey, I'm always here for you," he said, biting back the other words he wanted to say.

"If you ever need anything, you just have to ask," his voice a little more subdued, knowing that smile was for Sidran. Why was he giving Br'son advice on fixing things with the cobaltrider, he thought with annoyance.

"I know," Br'son said. He gave a gusty sigh and sat up. "All right, then, brother," he said. "Give me a hug and then get yourself cleaned up. I guess I'll go talk to Sidran and see about getting real life moving again. Thank goodness nothing important ever happens on the day after a flight."

Jah'vi gave a sigh of his own and scooted off the bed to give the Weyrsenior a hug, glad that the position hid his face. The words don't go, stay with me, bubbled close to the surface, but instead he made himself push Br'son away.

Instead of the countless things he wanted to say, he just smiled and said, "Go get her." His hands were in his pants pockets now, in tight fists, just in case they had ideas of their own.