Regrets (attn Risa)

All together, Nolinth was not pleased.

He'd lost a cobalt during Fall. He'd failed to catch Yllaveth when she Rose. And, on top of all of that, his rider had vomited on him in the middle of the night.

The bronze hadn't been surprised to find his rider back in their weyr after the flight. He'd felt his rage and known he was retreating, and perhaps he'd spent a little longer in the cool waters of the rivers to give him time to cool down himself.

In hindsight, he'd have been better off returning quickly, before Jah'vi had finished off a bottle of Lightning. He was already on the second and slurring his words when he came over to clean him up, and between his complaints and constant pausing to drink, a third bottle was opened.

That one had been the tipping point.

At least his throughly chagrined rider had been able to clean up the mess before falling face first into his bed. Nolinth had taken another dip in the river, and had refused to allow his rider to sleep curled up next to him as usual.

At least said rider had managed to bathe himself, though he'd only managed loose pants and still looked vaguely ill. It was amusing in a way, to see his usually social and cheery rider in such a salty state. Jah'vi may always have seemed to have a drink in his hand, but he carefully paced himself, and such a display was almost unheard of.

Jah'vi chewed on more mint leaves, willing the pounding in his head to dissipate. At least his stomach had settled, he thought with a groan. From where he laid sprawled on his bed, he could just barely see Nolinth.

"Can I come over?" he asked, voice hoarse and so overly loud in his own ears he immediately regretted speaking.

NO. YOU STAY OVER THERE. Nolinth spoke as loudly as possible, rumbling in amusement at the sounds of suffering coming from deeper inside the weyr.

It was beginning to get boring, though. Underneath the self pitying hang over was fear at what Sh'lor and his leadership would bring. Nolinth knew his rider well enough to know that only a few people would settle that nervousness.

Nimath, he called his scarlet clutchmate. If your rider is not busy, please send him to fix mine. I think he is broken and I am bored. Nolinth was unburdoned by the concerns that Jah'vi had. Yllaveth had picked who was right for the Weyr. So his voice was cheerful, perhaps more than he had a right, considering he'd spent the entire morning tormenting Jah'vi.

Bored! Nimath replied, horrified, even as she encouraged her rider right out of the dining hall (no worries, he happily took his breakfast and, truthfully, was just relieved he wasn't being harried by a flight, so soon after their senior queen's).

Boredom, after all, was a complete anathema to her. He is on his way. Shall I come to you as well? Should we fly around? Or just drop rocks in the river? We can't have you wasting away, bored!

H'den, long accustomed to his partner's ability to chat, kept her voice in the background and he wove his way through the canyon to appear at Jah'vi's weyr and let himself in without knocking. "I have food," he said, voice a bit louder than strictly necessary, but shy of a boom. "Will food fix what's broken?"

Come observe on my ledge, Nolinth told her, rumbling in amusement when Jah'vi groaned at hearing H'den enter. And be loud when you land.

And groan Jah'vi did, grabbing one of his pillows and hiding his head under it. "Stop screaming," he hissed from somewhere beneath the mound of bedding. After he'd cleaned himself up earlier, he'd had to change the bedding. He just hadn't managed to get the fresh set on completely. "And I don't think I'm ever going to be able to eat again." He threw the pillow off his face and sent his friend a pathetic look. "I'm dying," he whined.

You drank almost three bottles of the disgusting water they make, Nolinth said to all three, still quite loudly. Of course you're dying.

H'den made a face; partier he might have been, pre-Impression, but even no-regard-to-consequence-sixteen-turn-old him wouldn't have drank that much of something so potent (probably). "You're not dying, but you definitely should have chosen...uh, differently." His handsome face was clearly saying 'ugh', but his voice clearly communicated a chuckle underneath, rather than deep sympathy.

A flurry of sound from the ledge indicated Nimath arriving, her violet-red head poking inside, taking everything in, filling the weyr with a draconic-sized snort, and then pulling back to better cuddle against Nolinth.

"Have you had any water, at least?" He had a feeling he knew the answer, even as he crossed the room, out his food down, and started tugging blankets in sheets into some semblance of not "whers just finished rampaging through here".

"It seemed like a good idea at the time," he muttered, making no effort to move to either help or make things easier for H'den, instead watching him with one eye from underneath his heavy hair. "Got some water," he answered, waving a hand to his bedside table. The pitcher was half empty, proof he had been at least trying.

Nolinth happily cuddled up next to Nimath, curling his bronze body around the scarlet and nuzzling her head gently with his own. He'd missed his clutch mates, especially the smaller ones that were so easy to cuddle with. He has been complaining nonstop, he said, matter of factly, feeling he'd been greatly put out.

Jah'vi noticed the dragons, and honestly it seemed like a good idea. He grabbed H'dens hand and yanked him off balance, toppling him into the bed with him. Ignoring any protests, he wrapped his arms and legs around H'den and clung to his side with a happy little noise.

He wanted to tell H'den about the knot in his gut that was his worry about what Sh'lor would do now as Weyrleader. His rank would be stripped, certainly, and Sidrans' threat of being sent North was a serious possibility. He'd been so concerned with Casriel he hadn't thought to worry about the dissenters from Eastern.

He didn't really want to vocalize his fears right now. It was much easier to nuzzle against his friends' chest. Always the cuddler, and since Nolinth had denied him that comfort last night, Jah'vi just wanted some form of contact.

"I've been good," he said, trying for his normal levity but voice a little rough still. "I got a bath, an' the sheets... and I puked on Nolinth."

He made a noise that was definitely a smothered laugh, and Nolinth actually growled.

That is boring. You could take him up by the leg and fly him around the Weyr. Get all of the ick out, and he'll come down with much more energy. Nimath accompanied that terrifying bit of insight with cheerfully clear pictures, which she, like her bronze clutchmate, shared with both riders as well. Unlike Nolinth, that was not remotely her usual, but seemed appropriate in this case.

Her rider, meanwhile, was already prone to laugh at being made into Jah'vi's giant pillow, and the distinct images from his scarlet had it spill out, even as he tucked his cheek against the top of Jah'vi's head. "You, my friend, are a mess. And if you puke on me, I'm going to let Nimath give Nolinth even more ideas - and I know he doesn't really need encouragement."

Oh yes, Nolinth said, swishing his tail so it made as much noise as possible. There was a crash as a jar of oil Jah'vi had neglected to put away fell to the floor. Nolinth hmphed in amusement, smugly reminding his rider he'd have to clean that up later.

"You're all evil," Jah'vi raised his voice to include the dragons, sitting up slightly before dropping his aching head back on H'dens chest. "Not gonna puke on you, stupid. I got all that out of my system. And please don't encourage him, he's been screaming in my head all morning. At least he's at a normal volume now that you're here."

He wasn't sure if Nolinth was giving him a break, or just being polite to H'den and Nimath. Something told him it was politeness, and he'd be in for more payback later.

"Have I missed anything interesting so far?" he asked, not quite broaching the subject. There'd likely be a meating tonight, and he didn't plan on venturing outside his weyr until then. Not with this much uncertainty about his immediate future weighing on him.

"I'd reconsider who you're calling stupid," H'den replied, shifting slightly to show that he could, if he wanted, shift quite a bit and upset Jah'vi's careful balance. "And no - mostly breakfast and rumor. With you, Sidran, and Casriel all tucked up in your respective places, there hasn't been much to act on. I wonder if they're in the same state as you?" The three Wingleaders with male dragons, of course, had been the leading candidates in the betting pool of Weyrleader.

Giving a little whimper, he clung tighter and burrowed his face into the scarletriders' neck. "They didn't have to deal with him at Eastern, so they probably don't even realize," he said, relaxed enough to open up a little. "Sh'lor and I didn't really get along when it got down to just the few of us left."

He groaned a bit, curling around H'den more in a silent plea for comfort. "My head is just a mess. I don't know what Sh'lor is going to do with me." It was as much as he could say without giving away Br'sons plans, something he wished he didn't know about right now.

Sent off to watch another Weyr die, cut off from his friends again. He hadn't so much as desired the position of Weyrleader, but he'd wanted the security that he wouldn't be forced to say goodbye again.

Nolinth actually made a concerned noise from the ledge.

"That time at Eastern..." H'den frowned, then forced a bit of lightness in his tone, not to make less of the suffering that faced those left behind when they were exiled, but to focus forward. "This is different, and there's nowhere else to go. We're all stuck with each other, whatever the head-into-arse-ratio of various leaders."

Jah'vi hmphed in amusement against H'dens neck, a smirk on his face. He liked the optimism. And of course he was right, the rational part of his brain agreed. Br'son wouldn't allow retaliatory actions for personal grudges.

Feeling better now than he had since he woke up, he gave H'den an appreciative kiss on the cheek before stretching across him for the plate of food he'd left on the nearby end table. It was a stretch but he managed to grab some bread, not really caring that he pinned the scarlet rider underneath him while he ate.

"I wonder how the wings are going to be restructured," he said, belatedly offering H'den some of the bread he'd so graciously brought. "A new one for Sh'lor or are we going to shuffle?" He grimaced a little at that. He liked being a Wingleader. It was a good outlet for his excess energy, and despite yesterday's tragedy he'd had a good run. He wouldn't mind losing the Weyrsecond cords, though. Let someone else sit through all the mind numbing political meetings.

H'den poked Jah'vi in the most sensitive spot easily accessible, and grinned. "That is food I brought, bronzerider. I don't know how things'll get reshuffled, but I do know you're gonna owe me some breakfast."

"You knew what you were getting yourself into," Jah'vi retorted, finishing off the bread roll and putting his arms around H'den again. He did so love to cuddle, and the pounding in his head had receded to the point where he was beginning to get drowsy. Just being in H'dens presence had relaxed him.

"And you know I'll pay you back," he continued, in reference to the both the food and the comforting. "One way or another," he added with a wicked little chuckle, proving that he was indeed feeling much better now. Not that he was pushing for more than just being held right then; he stifled a yawn but didn't move away, content to leave H'den either trapped or force him to try and detatch himself.

H'den didn't need the building pressure-warmth that was Nimath's approaching flight to enjoy cuddling - still, it certainly didn't hurt. And so he settled in, comfortably, and said only, a smile clear in his voice, "I'll make sure you do."