Infamous

Writers: Devin, Miriah
Date Posted: 18th May 2015

Characters: N'vanik, J'ackt
Description: N'vanik tells J'ackt about the propaganda.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 12, day 20 of Turn 7
Notes: Notes: Comes after "Bad Propaganda", before "Shaking Things Up"
Mentioned: Sh'del, Cyradis

N'vanik

J'ackt

}:Mine would like to see yours. He says yours is not in trouble.:{
Loseth knew he wasn't supposed to include his rider's muttered, "This
time," so he left it out.

Zith passed the message quickly to J'ackt, who could only lift a brow
at the added phrase at the end of the message. He could almost hear
the "again" at the end of the summons. He exhaled and rose from his
desk. After a month of digging, he was definitely not going to
graduate with his own class, but with L'pin helping him with learning
to /between/ at least there was something he could do.

He found his way to the ofice and rapped on the door, pushing it open.
"You wanted to see me again? If I'm not in trouble again, what did I
not do this time?"

Faranth help him, he _liked_ the boy's surly attitude. To a degree, at
least. "Come have a seat. I want you to read something." N'vanik slid
a hide with the lyrics across his desk.

J'ackt slid into the seat and eyed the hide. Reading wasn't something
he particularly enjoyed as it often gave him a headache, but he had
slowly learned since his arrival. He picked it up and it took him
longer than most to get through the words. They still seemed to jumble
a bit in his head before he reasoned them out. His brows snapped down
as he reached the end and he swore violently. "You've got to be
fecking kidding me. Seriously? I thought Holders weren't very bright,
but this just shows that they're downright fecking stupid as brain
damaged wher." He tossed the hide back on the desk.

"I wasn't too happy when I read that, either. I felt like jumping on
Loseth and telling him to flame the tavern where they were playing
that," N'vanik said. "A rider heard the song and brought it to my
attention."

"I can have Zith do it. I'd be happy to." J'ackt sat back in his
chair, scowling at the piece of hide as if the entire situation was
its fault. "They got it all wrong."

N'vanik leaned forward with a hint of a smile. "Which is why I'm
commissioning a few songs to set things straight."

He received a slow blink and a wrinkled brow as an immediate response.
"What kind of songs?"

"I'm planning on having one of the harpers here write about the evil
guard that taunted a weyrling and then drew a knife on him. Shocking
that a hold guard would try to kill a rider and dragon not even old
enough to /between/." And really, it wouldn't need much embellishment.
"Then I'm going to the Harper Hall but I wanted to ask your
permission."

J'ackt eyed him. "It's not going to make me sound like some hero, is it?"

N'vanik couldn't help a smile. "Maybe a little. From holdless thief to
bronzerider... that's good stuff, and we should use it."

"I'm no hero." J'ackt muttered slightly, then sighed. "I guess this
will help out the Weyr, won't it?"

"Yeah." N'vanik pointed at the hide. "This damages the Weyr's
reputation. We need to counteract that. Welcome to politics."

That brought a snort, but then J'ackt sighed, his brow knitting in
thought. He leaned in his chair, resting his chin on his hand and took
a deep breath, his expression introspective. "I really fecked things
up for you, didn't I?"

"Yep." N'vanik's tone was neutral.

He huffed softly and then cursed under his breath. He ran his hand
through his hair and looked up at N'vanik, his voice careful. "Do you
want me to go to the Hold?" It was a quiet question. "If it will help
you, I'll go. Take the lashes and finish it."

N'vanik leaned forward, his eyes intense. "I will _never_ let them hurt
you."

He met N'vanik's gaze and spoke softly. "I could take it. You and
Cyradis have been pretty good to me all things considered. I could pay
it back."

"I don't want you to pay me back like that." N'vanik appreciated that
J'ackt was willing to offer himself like that, though. "If you feel a
need to balance the scales, work on convincing Sh'del to let you
graduate. I want you in my Wing."

Surprise was evident in J'ackt's face. He hadn't even considered being
put in N'vanik's wing, or any wing for that matter. "Is that what you
really want me to do? Suck it up and just do what I have to do to
graduate?"

N'vanik laughed. "Is dealing with Sh'del worse than getting lashes?"

"Well, no, " J'ackt admitted with a frown. "But I have a feeling that
he won't let me graduate until I meet his idea of a perfect
bronzerider."

"You don't have to be perfect. He doesn't trust you. He thinks you'll
be a liability in the Wings, and to a degree, he's right." He and
Sh'del disagreed on a lot, but they did have the same goal. "You fail
to follow orders up there, someone dies."

J'ackt snorted softly. "Fine, I'll follow orders in drills. "

"Teamwork, J'ackt. You really have to learn that you aren't alone
anymore. People will depend on you, and you'll depend on them. That's
the only way a Wing can function. The only way a _Weyr_ can function.
You can hate someone else's guts, but you gotta protect them in Fall
just the same." N'vanik had learned that part early, at least.
Depending on other people outside of Threadfall had taken longer.

That made J'ackt lean back in his seat, clearly uncomfortable. He
didn't like the thought of having to depend on anyone to get by.
People were, in his opinion, generally selfish and unreliable. The
thought of relaxing his guard, even in his wing, was difficult, almost
impossible. "I'll do the job I'm supposed to."

"Try to be polite while you're at it. Sh'del has a bad opinion of your
attitude and sulking isn't going to help you. Fake a good attitude. I
know it sucks, but do it anyway. If you need to pout or yell, come see
me. You can shout about how unfair it all is while I do my hidework."
To be honest, he missed having J'ackt as an assistant.

"I don't pout." J'ackt protested instantly. He didn't really yell that
much either. He ran a hand through his hair. "Fine. I'll try to be
polite."

Well that was something at least. "Alright J'ackt, you can go."

Last updated on the May 21st 2015

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Infamous