Naked Bronzerider on A Foreign Beach
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Xanadu Weyr - Docks
The main dock of Xanadu Weyr has a T shape, the central pier extending out and then splitting into two branches. That central dock extends slightly past the branching, making a square often used as a staging area for supplies or simply as a spot to sit and relax.
Pointed away from the main beach, there's the dock where ships moor. The fishing vessels who make their home here are joined by trading ships and the occasional personal craft, bobbing on the waves.
In the other direction, there's an area used by the dolphineers. There's a shack with supplies, extra fins and breathing gear hung against the outside, and a large raft moored to the dock near a ladder. It floats low in the water, easy to clamber on or off, and on it is a Dolphin Bell, the rope dangling into the water to let the dolphins summon their crafters.


It was Xanadu. It was cold. There was snow. So why, oh why is there a naked teenager wandering down the beach? A very familar teenager minus every scrap of clothing, a dragon, and sanity? At least all the blood was cleaned off, but that did not explain the presense of the Half Moon Bay bronzerider, his lack of clothes, his presense on the beach in the middle of what one can only assume is winter, or the fact he didn't seem to either notice or care about any of it. There were tattoos, there were PEIRCINGS, OH FARANTH THE PEIRCINGS. Still, J'en must have been out there for longer than a few minutes considering he was starting to turn just the slightest bit blue.

WHY is there a naked J'en on the beach? BECAUSE HE WANTS TO DIE, THAT'S WHY. Maybe the cold will get to him before Risali does, but one of those two things will eventually reach him. Seems like one angry little harper is arguably faster than the cold - even if J'en is starting to turn blue. Risali had relied on K'vir to get her back to Half Moon Bay after her stunt in the infirmary, earning herself the ire of a bluerider, and a bronzerider, and being screamed at by her father's dragon to GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT when she'd caught glimpse of a missing eye and a swollen face. She had been a mess, an absolute mess, and poor K'vir had been the one to deal with that mess - probably in their typical fashion of talking until too much rum kicked in, and dancing. At some point, they had fallen asleep, and Risali had woken up again in the clutches of a nightmare she couldn't shake, leading her to the beach now. She'd wanted to spare K'vir further this (whatever this is), and had been as quiet as she could getting dressed, and bundling up, and leaving him to some well-deserved rest. SO YOU CAN UNDERSTAND why she is a little taken aback at this unFaranthly hour to find not only J'en (who she'd sent a letter to inviting down to Xanadu, but DEFINITELY NOT NAKED TO THE BEACH), but J'en sans his clothes. She's already shrugging out of her jacket as booted feet crunch snow beneath them, taking as long of strides as she can to the man in question with a shiver as the cold finds her instead. You'd think she'd have learned enough from Ila'den to know maybe you should announce yourself before you touch people because it could end badly for you, but Risa risks it anyway, placing her too-small coat around Jen's shoulders from behind. It might not fit, but at least it will spare him some if he pulls it around and curls his arms under it. "What are you doing, J'en?" But the edge to her tone is bordering on concern, the hint of hysteria when people are about to see something really bad happen and know they can't stop it. "Where are your clothes?"

K'vir may be oblivious to Risali's escape, but Zekath is not. The bronze isn't usually one for sentinel duty for a single person but he'd done it out of a favour to his rider. Of course, K'vir didn't ask him too but that's beyond the point. The bronze knows how worried he is, how deeply troubled K'vir became over the whole incident in Half Moon Bay and so he'll stay where he is, ignoring the cold (or not really feeling it) and wait. Eventually Risali flees and he'll watch her go, waiting until she's almost completely out of his range of vision before moving as stealthily as a bronze his size can. There's also the advantage that she may not expect him to be lurking far behind her. Once he knows where she is, he seems satisfied and would have quietly kept this to himself only J'en is there. Naked (not the point) but clearly Not Right. THAT makes Zekath wake K'vir and start the whole process of getting the young bronzerider down to the beach, properly dressed, but with a thick blanket under one arm. Without even stopping, he'll hurry to catch up to Risali, keeping a wary eye on J'en. That blanket? Is thrust out to her. DO WHAT YOU WILL. "What's going on? How'd he even get here…?"

It was J'en alright, even without the tattoos, the peircings and that fuck the world expression of his, there were those scars scattered across his backside from shoulder to the lower expanse of his thighs. Not that he was at all seeming embarrassed about this. No. Not when something was warm. This is a nice change from being so cold. J'en couldn't really feel his feet anymore so the pain in them had finally stopped some time ago. That was good, right? The Half Moon Bay rider at least stops stumbling and wandering as Risali settles her coat over his shoulders, even if it barely fits his broad shoulders. There is a pause and the J'en turns around. AVERT THINE EYES! Not that he is at all aware of just how stupid he was to be walking around naked in Xanadu with freaking snow on the ground relatively nearby. Heavily lidded gold eyes remain on Risa, even if they aren't really seeing her right away. It takes sometime for reality to settle in, at least to the fact that she was there. That poor coat, tiny as it is, slips free of him to the ground behind him about when K'vir arrives. "Burned them." he replies, ignoring her first question altogether. His teeth were still chattering at least, but the most notable change was the lack of anything familiar in his voice. It wasn't cold, it wasn't angry, it wasn't emotionless. Jae sounded lost, confused, and maybe even a tiny bit terrorfied. It also was reflected in his face, making him appear much younger somehow. Then to K'vir as the blanket is thrust out towards Risali, his eyes slide back towards him in reflection of the gesture, "Flew." Uh, yeah, things were not right.

Thank Faranth for small mercies - and Zekath. And K'vir. The bronzerider coming up behind her startles Risali to be sure, his voice making her stumble as she swings around to face him and then recovers, shoulders momentarily drooping in relief before she reaches out her hands to receive the blanket, fingers brushing K'vir's as she does; it's all the more welcome of a greeting that the rider will get, as Risali's focus turns instead to unfurling the blanket in her possession and again, dragging it over J'en's shoulders. "Kyzenviro, help me." By holding it in place while she works. You see, Risali is pointedly not looking down — or any further than J'en's eyes, really, but she does spot her jacket on the ground (UNGRATEFUL), and this spurs her into winding the blanket around J'en's shoulders (with difficulty, if K'vir's not helping her) and tying it off like a makeshift cloak - if J'en allows her (and him?) the time and the proximity. Either way, she's leaning down to retrieve her jacket, dusting off snow before it can melt and pulling it back over her shoulders. "You burned them? J'en you can't just…" And Risali makes a helpless gesture, looking up at K'vir in a way that says HE BURNED THEM?! Before looking at the Half Moonian again. "You can't just walk around naked. Where is Taeski?" She's donated enough of K'vir's clothes, HA. He can donate them on his own now, if that's what he wants. And then she's looking at K'vir again. "I… I told them maybe they should come to Xanadu for a little bit." Because she might be all bristles, but underneath that is a STUPIDLY CARING HEART, that needs to make sure everybody is okay even if she hates them and even if one of them is (was?) a renegade. Does she need to say it? She's gesturing at J'en when he answers with a soft, "He flew. Does he look okay? Do we need to drag him to a healer?" BECAUSE SHE WAS NOT LOOKING OKAY. And anyway, ISN'T K'VIR THE ONE IN SEARCH AND RESCUE? What do your Cinnamon Roll eyes see? And yes, she is talking about him like he's not there, because he's clearly crazy.

K'vir is pointedly not looking at certain parts of J'en and mostly just out of respect, given the bronzerider's addled state. He's usually no prude about nakedness, being weyrbred but there's just something not right about this. It's likely the man's unhinged state that has him as uneasy as he is. Of course he'll help Risali wrap the blanket around him and to tie it off, but as for making sense of what was said? There's only a grim look, "We just need to get him out of the cold. Anywhere but here will be good right now. It's a wonder he's not frozen yet…" Does he look okay? NO RISALI. J'en is kind of freaking K'vir out a little but he won't say that out loud. JUST THE OBVIOUS course of action they should take. Cautiously, he'll reach to touch his fingers to J'en's shoulders. "Follow us, eh? We'll get somewhere warm." And try to puzzle this whole mess out.

The Half Moon Bay bronzerider just stands there and lets Risa place the blanket over his shoulder, but he puts zero effort into keeping it there. Already his eyes had returned to her, simply peering down the height differance past the thickness of his lashes. He doesn't interfere with her or K'vir's attempts to keep the thing from slipping off like the coat had, but he's oddly keeping his eyes focused intensely upon the poor guy but at least once its all said and done, J'en is covered up enough to make conversation much less uncomfortable. He nods when Risali echoes his statement about his clothes. Yes, he had in fact burned them, as well as the boots. But, when her next thought spoken aloud is cut off, he merely tilts his head to the side vaugely. Can't what? Oh well, must not be important…oh. "I'm not naked." He waves a bit of the blanket in her direction after looking down at himself, because this was obviously a non-issue and so he moves on to the next question. "One second." Then his gaze goes long and distant for a few moments, returning there after. "Leketh says he fell asleep and that Vauril is dead. There are an awful lot of dead renegades, Risali. Did ya know that I killed three of 'em? There was a lot of blood." Now his eyes were welling up again, and soon rapidly cooling tears were spilling over his cheeks with no attempt to hide it. So now he'll stand there in his blanket and cry now, that is until Risali mentions the note, to which he nods. "We live here now. Already have a weyr. That's where Leketh and Taeski are." he replies sniffling a bit more, and sounding miserable on top of absolutely insane, pointing back the way he had come further down the beach. Then Risali is talking to K'vir and not to him and so he just huddles under his blanket some, "It's kinda cold out here." Fingers touch, and J'en inhales sharply, reflexively knocking the strange man's hands off of him. "No. No. No." He shakes his head, backing away from K'vir, "Hmmm. No, touching." NO TOUCHING THE JAE! Well, so that's a thing.

LISTEN, K’VIR. SHE MEANT PHYSICALLY, OKAY. Obviously the bronzerider’s one screw loose if he’s out wandering in the snow. NAKED FIGHT HER. But Risali does listen, to his direction: get him somewhere warm. Risali’s already looking at K’vir in a silently communicative way, brows rising in a way that says, ‘Home?’ and something else, something private even as grey eyes stray back to J’en and she lets out an exhale of exasperation. “You’re not naked now because Kyzen was kind enough to bring you a blanket.” And another look for K’vir, that seems to say, ‘How did you know, by the way?’ because that’s only struck her now. But J’en keeps speaking, and it’s the mention of her cousin’s death that has Risali going notably pale, bottom lip pulling between her teeth as she reaches out a hesitant hand and pats one of J’en’s arms near the elbow. “I know,” she informs him, softly, not trusting her voice to keep steady when a wash of emotions threatens to rise up even while she fights them back down again. Now is not the time. She already put K’vir through this and she was determined to control it this time. “I know he is, and I’m sorry.” But the bronzerider keeps going, and Risali gives K’vir another helpless look, the kind that says, ‘I don’t know what to do,’ because she doesn’t know what to do – but there’s no exasperation, or annoyance, or malice. It’s hurt, and the need to help of an empath trying to find the right thing to say even though she knows there’s nothing adequate to say. So he’s killed people? “Good,” she breathes, “because it was them or a lot of good people and you,” and oh but J’en is crying and finally Risali reaches out to still K’vir for just a moment as she brings her arms around J’en’s and leans into an embrace that might be SLIGHTLY AWKWARD because he is NAKED BENEATH THAT BLANKET and she just holds him for a moment. “I’m here, I’m right here,” she breathes; there’s no ‘it’s okay’, no, ‘Stop it,’ nothing other than her waiting until he’s voicing that he’s cold and her looking to K’vir for direction again — hands on shoulders, J’en’s immediately volatile reaction to the contact, and Risali sucks in a breath before looking to the Half Moonian first. “He is trying to help you,” but there’s no anger, sans a twinge of annoyance — perhaps for the bronzerider lumping K’vir in amont HORRIBLE PEOPLE even if it’s a knee-jerk reaction and not a conscious effort to smear campaign. And then she’s moving to K’vir, curling cold fingers into his tunic. “He… he’s had people do to him what… what happened to me. Only they followed through with it.” Hushed tones, hoping he understands, and then she’s rubbing her hands together, taking J’en’s elbow to steer him while she figures out where.

K'vir will explain later to Risali how he was aware of the situation and knew to bring the blanket. Bringing it up now will just further complicate things and really there are more important things to focus on. Namely? J'en. To whom K'vir is backing away from a few steps, hands held up and in a non threatening manner. Placating. "Easy, alright! Sorry. I won't touch you." He'll leave THAT to Risali too. SORRY (not sorry)! He's here to help, not make a further disaster of things. Listening as J'en begins to unravel the story and then unravel in the literal sense, he'll do his best to advert his gaze to the other's tears; it's meant to be respectful, as he's sort of floating disconnected from all of this. There's some sympathy of course for the trauma he's suffered but it's to a magnitude that K'vir can even begin to grasp. It won't keep him from trying to help, as best he can, for both of them. Even if that means standing there while Risali comforts J'en as best she can and when she comes to him and pulls at his tunic, he'll tilt his head down so she can hurriedly explain. Paling visibling, he'll nod, grimly, as his eyes dart briefly to J'en. "We should go somewhere quiet." So not the Infirmary, all of a sudden? What prompted that? "Do you think we can try to lead him back to his place here? Your room isn't far… There's the guest cottages…" But he seems unsure about that last one.

Apparently it was all right for Risali to touch J'en and not so okay for K'vir. When the woman pats his elbow he merely slides his watery eyes in her direction, the tears continuing to flow unyeilding. He does look down though as Vauril's death is confirmed, "Taeski's gunna be upset." Like he didn't know that Taeski was already upset, but then again the young bronzerider was a little slow on the uptake and so that will certainly be interesting when that bit of information registers. That time is not now though, because J'en is just standing there and leaking from his eyeballs, the flood gates not having burst open as of yet, but this may be a sign it was close. He stiffens though when he's told it was good that he killed people, because it was to protect good people, his jaw most of all which twitches as the water works get turned up. "Ila'den is not a good man, he stole R'hyn and then he left R'hyn behind and then I had to kill people to get him back so R'hyn would be happy." he mutters, almost breathlessly, and he focuses back on Risali. "So ya could be happy." It might seem like he was placing blame there on R'hyn, on Risali, but he truly meant the driving goal behind his actions, "Yer happy now. Right?" But there is hugging and J'en only stands there and blinks, helplessly, as if he had no idea why this was happening right now. "I know. I see ya." When Risali steps back, brows furrow just a touch upon his brow when he's told that K'vir just wanted to help him, "Not without permission. The touching." The younger boy looks then to the poor bewildered Xanadu bronzerider, "Okay? Okay." As soon as Risali is explaining the reason behind Jae's no touching policy though he looks down and away, and that there lady and gent would be a nice dose of shame there for you all to enjoy. He has nothing to add about where ever it is that they were going, all he does know is that Risali was nice and she had his elbow. So, he'll go wherever Risali was going. "Yer very pretty," he tells her, but then lowers his voice as he's dragged past K'vir, "..and yer very lucky." He might be off his rocker, but he sees all.

Grey eyes go back to J'en, expression muted when he speaks about Taeski coming to terms with Vauril's death, but she doesn't say anything; Taeski is the one who told her, and she somehow feels like the conversational knowledge is something to be kept private, between the bronzerider and his weyrmate. And then she bristles. 'Ila'den is not a good man', 'Ila'den is not a good man', 'Ila'den is not a good man'; it's a mantra in Risali's head, glaringly loud but not loud enough to drown out the accusation that he left R'hyn and J'en had to get him back. The harper's jaw tightens in inexplicable fury, tears clamoring for space at the corners of her eyes and, finding none, fall down her cheeks as rage goes unchecked but wholely restrained — sans the fact that her entire body is shaking with it. "He left to save those babies," comes her hiss, her only attempt to salvage her father's character because anything else will result in debilitatingly crippling words that she can never take back and that J'en really doesn't need right now. Look at that, K'vir. SHE'S GROWING UP. Though she's taking a moment to grab K'vir, to squeeze his arm because she needs his strength and this is how she channels it. She channels it, and she finds her voice, and she even manages a whispered, gentler, "but thank you, J'en, for what you did to get him back — despite your own hurt. That was… that was very selfless. And very brave." She won't say whether or not she's happy; she's said what she can manage for now before looking at K'vir. "I think his place will probably be best, if not the infirmary. Taeski is probably there and can make sure he gets warm. I'll go… look in the stores for some spare clothes until Veliren and Kielric find some to send. I dont know where your weyr is though, J'en. You're going to have to help us get you there." And then she's grabbing his elbow and steering him away, only to be called pretty, and hear K'vir being told he's lucky and — Risali definitely missteps there. Risa withdraws her touch, tucking her hair behind her ears as she shoots a look at K'vir. "He is, isn't he," she manages, back to J'en, humor shaky because she doesn't know what to say. And then Risa delivers a pat to J'en's back. "You're uhm… you're handsome as well. Kyzenviro's just…" A weak handgesture. "He's my person, understand? I like his face the most." There's that word again. AND ANYWAY, DON'T LET IT GO TO YOUR HEAD, BRONZERIDER (of the Zekath persuasion, of course). SHE DOESN'T KNOW WHERE J'EN WAS GOING WITH THAT, SO SHE IS DRAWING A CLEAR LINE IN THE SAND. For herself, not to exert possession or apply ownership to K'vir. He's totally his own person. Just… her person.

K'vir will be forgiven if he doesn't speak much, right? This is A LOT for the young bronzerider to absorb, along with the MILLION of questions he likely has for both J'en and Risali. He's overheard what the other bronzerider shares to Risali, though he cannot side with one or the other over what is implied there. There's too many unknowns, not enough understanding of the complexities of their shared story for him to form anything of worth to say. He can see how it affects and hurts Risali; he's got a CLEAR idea of how it's affected and broken J'en. So does he want to know all the sordid, terrible, awful details? That's still being debated in his head and he's snapped out of it by J'en answering him. "Go it," he tells him without hesitation. Easy enough to follow! Risali hugging him brings a return of that very gesture, an unspoken 'it's okay' and 'I (sort of) understand' conveyed through it but the 'I'm here for you' the important part. "Then we'll go back that way. Just point me where or… J'en, you know the way back?" Did they already cover this? K'vir's mind goes for another spin when it's implied that he's the lucky one after the compliment to Risali. Um, guys? HE'S STANDING RIGHT THERE! And looking rather uncomfortable. SO HE WON'T ANSWER, except to weakly smile. "We need to get out of the cold or we're going to have bigger problems. I know how to deal with heatstroke and sunburn, but not frostbite." SHALL WE?

Tonight was the night of truths, because when Risali tries to explain why her father left, the boy tips his head to the side and looks at her with a few blank blinks. Does. Not. Compute. "I thought he was mah friend. I thought I was bein' paranoid, but I wasn't and he should of told meh he loved 'im, instead of pretendin' to care 'bout meh." He looks down then, all the hurt he'd been hiding behind the ice and the rage bubbling out of him now that his defenses were down, "But yer nice, Risali, even when yer yellin' at meh and sayin' mean thin's to make meh sad. I know ya were hurtin' but ya never pretended, and so I decided that ya were mah friend. I hope that's okay." Glancing upwards at her, he drops his gaze back down. "I dun have many friends." Probably because not many people stick around to get past the pretencious asshole act he puts up. Does he really give zero fucks? No, not really. His nose crinkles at being called J'en, that starting to get through at least, though the rest of what she says after that thank you gets the seventeen turn old to heave a great sigh, "I guess." Was it brave? Was it selfless? Probably. However, does Jae believe the cost was worth the reward? "It's that way." He points again, down the beach from which he came. "Taeski is there. Leketh is there." A few sniffles soon follow as his elbow is grabbed, golden eyes darting towards Risali as she draws the line, completely ignoring what she says about him being handsome. "Okay?" Again, this does not compute in Jae brain. He does look between both K'vir and Risali though the confusion clear until the proverbal glow basket opens up above his head, "Oh! Ya think I want him to fuck meh oooooor maybe I wanna fuck him?" BLUNT. Brows lift, and he peers over at the poor poor poor bronzerider, golden eyes narrowing some very appraisingly while he slowly tips his head to the side. One pause. Two. Threeeeee. Annnnnnd, a pop of his shoulders upwards rather dismissively. "Not without yer permission, Risa." With that he drops a very chaste and friendly kiss to the top of her head. Like a parent or an uncle might. "Can we stop talkin' 'bout sex now? I'm cold." Then K'vir speaks up about getting out of the outdoors, and he gives the guy a smile that probably would floor a small cothold. He was 'pretty' most of the time, but when he smiled, he was beautiful. PROBABLY, why it doesn't happen very often and probably why he ended up being passed around as a child. BUT NOW, without needing to be lead, he just sort of starts wandering back the way he'd come. Towards his new weyr, towards Leketh, and towards his weyrmate.

Worry not, K'vir will get the full run down of The Situation (as it will now be called) in time, likely after they've got J'en tucked away and warm and not naked on the beach in the snow. For now, Risali's swiping at tears that have no business being there (on her face, mind, not J'en's), and soaking up what silent reassurances and strength K'vir does give before she reluctantly lets him go. Grey eyes are back on J'en as he states his grievances with Ila'den, her father, and there's a soft (but firmly spoken): "You don't have to like Ila'den, J'en, but he's my father. I love him. So tell him, or tell R'hyn. It's not my business." She gives R'hyn enough grief anyway, for THE ENTIRETY OF PERN. And K'vir. And L'gan. And probably L'or and Calisi too. IT'S A TALENT, OKAY. But J'en's complimenting her again, while also making her feel guilty, and Risali shifts in discomfort, pulling the lapels of her jacket up towards her face as she ducks into her hands under the guise of warming them. Friends? Such a foreign word to her; it's probably why she doesn't answer to confirm, or deny, or — "Right," she breathes, "that way." ONLY FOR J'EN TO FLUSTER HER AGAIN. Her mouth opens, then closes as J'en completely misconstrues what she meant, then checks out K'vir, THEN gives K'vir a come hither smile (because that's totally how she interprets it) and - there's a flush to her cheeks, that has nothing to do with the cold biting at exposed flesh. Does it sound conceited if she clarifies that she thought he was coming onto her? "What? I. Faranth, you idiot. I HOPE YOU FREEZE." J'en leans down to kiss the top of her head, and Risa is all flailing limbs that say GET OFF GET BACK AWAY YE BEAST, flustered as he starts to retreat and she huffs, "K'vir is his own person. He can sleep with whoever he wants to. I was telling you not to… DON'T TRY IT WITH ME," at his back. More flushing, MORE BURROWING IN HER JACKET, AND HER HANDS, AND NOW HER SCARF as she turns SCARLET and pointedly DOESN'T look at K'vir because she doesn't want to know, okay. She doesn't. But she does touch fingers to this arm as she moves past, silently asking he follow as she stomps after J'en - to at least make sure he gets home.

K'vir could have ignored the bluntness if it didn't seem so out of place! Or catch him in an already off-guard, off-balanced state. He'll just STARE at a moment to J'en and suffer that scrutiny before looking away and clearing his throat. NO COMMENT FROM HIM. Except for a sort of disrepute 'what the hell?' so of look to Risali. WHAT THE HELL!? Yes could they PLEASE stop talking about sex? NOT the right time! When the chance presents itself? He totally WILL just foist J'en off or at least pretend too and leave it ALL to Risali (sorry) to see that the bronzerider is pawned off to Taeski. Sorry folks, he's just going to stand back out of this too! Moral support, right? He's GOOD at that, at least!


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