He Always Remembers

Writers: AL, Suzee
Date Posted: 18th February 2012

Characters: Briata, Y'gel
Description: Briata finds Y'gel drunk.
Location: River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 6, day 19 of Turn 6
Notes: Mentioned: Gelira, Rhosyn

Briata

Y'gel

He hadn't eaten his dinner and after his meeting with Rhosyn he left
one of his journeymen in charge of the dragon infirmary and went back
to his quarters. The whole situation with Briata had him confused...
and depressed. It was obvious that she still wanted B'lamick and who
could blame her. He was old enough to be her father and instead he was
the father of her child. He shook his head as he crossed the room.

Pulling his favorite bottle of whiskey out of the cupboard, he began
to slowly drink the remains of the half empty bottle.

Briata hadn't had any plans to visit Y'gel. She'd had other plans,
mainly to work on her special project. She really wanted to see if
she could finish it before the baby was born - see if...well. No point
in worrying about it. If it happened, it happened.

That plan, however, got pushed to the side when she heard Aug
grumbling, a tint of worry behind his annoyance. Pretty much all she
got out of him was that Y'gel was going to have a headache in the
morning. So the young apprentice changed her plans and found herself
at the door of a certain bronzerider's weyr, then knocked upon it.
"Y'gel? It's Briata."

Y'gel put down his glass and stood. "Whoa," he chuckled. "I'm a little
dizzy." He went to the door and threw it open. "Hullo Briata! C'mon in!"

He turned and went back to the sofa and slumped back down picking up
the glass on the way.

Briata opened the door and slipped through, closing it behind him. She
moved further into the weyr with tentative steps and finally came into
the main room, her eyes immediately falling upon the man. "Y'gel?
Is...everything all right?"

"Sure," he said. "Why wouldnnn it be? Everything's just great!"

Except it wasn't - Briata could tell that much. She noted the glass in
his hand and frowned. She didn't like this. She'd been through this
once and really didn't want to go through it again. At least he wasn't
half passed out to where she and the Steward had to drag him back to
his quarters. "Y'gel...perhaps you should stop drinking."

"Why," he asked. He peered at her a moment. "You're really pretty."

A bit of colour darted into Briata's cheeks and she reached for the
glass. "And you're not quite in your head right now. You've had a
little too much to drink. Perhaps you should lie down."

He let her take the glass. "But I'm not tired," he slurred. After
another long moment he murmured. "I can't 'member Lira any more," he
said a little sadly. "She's all blurry in my head."

There was a pause and Briata turned to look over at Y'gel, studying the
man before finally placing the glass upon the table. "Who is Lira?"

"Liranet..." his voice trailed off. "Gelira's mother." He took a deep
breath and closed his eyes to try and see her again. "She was my
weyrmate for more than eleven turns.But Thread came... and she..." a
tear squeezed out from the corner of his eye. "She was... gone."

"Oh." Liranet. Gelira had mentioned her on occasion when Briata had
visited the dragons. Briata chose a chair and lowered herself into it,
facing the man who had tried to drown his sorrows. "I'm sorry." ?She
half murmured. She understood how he felt. Understood it more than
she really wanted to. Her own eyes stung at the thought of B'lamick.
Would she forget him? Would he be blurry in her head some day? She
hoped not. She wanted to remember him. Forever, as clear as day, that
smile, that laugh, the caress of his bronze's voice in her mind...

}:He hasn't been this way for a long time.:{ rumbled the musical bass
of Aughashyth's voice that was so very like Y'gel's own.

**Did the memories just hit him?** That happened to her some times.
They would slam through her mind, distract Briata from whatever she was
doing, causing her bowl over as her heart ached with pain that was as
sharp as the day he had disappeared. She could understand the desire
to drink. She never fell into that trap, but she _could_ understand it.

}:He always remembers.:{ The big bronze was puzzled by his lifemate's
grief after all this time. He would have forgotten about it all if it
hadn't been for the fresh reminders from Y'gel.

**So do I.** Not about her, but about B'lamick. She couldn't help but
remember. How could she forget someone like that? It was impossible.
"Y'gel, you should lie down. ?Get some sleep."

"Right," he sat up and put his hands on his knees to stand. But when
he finally did rise he swayed dangerously. "Whoa."

Briata swept across to draw beneath his arm and anchor him.
She honestly didn't want to go anywhere near his bed, but the man
wasn't in a good way and he wouldn't make it on his own. "I'll help."
She murmured as she began to carefully guide him toward the bedroom
area.

He leaned on her just for stability and made it to his bed. Easing
down onto the edge he had enough clarity to look into her eyes. "You
should go," he said softly.

"You should sleep," Briata returned just as softly. Not just yet.
She eased his feet out of his boots and then helped him get his legs
onto the bed. She wouldn't dare touch his clothing, but she was
willing to do that much. "Sleep this off. ?I doubt you'll feel quite
so chipper in the morning."

"Yeah," he snorted but obeyed her and lay down on the bed. He couldn't
understand why she was being so sweet to him. She obviously liked him
as a friend but nothing more. He was seriously confused by Briata and
Rhosyn both.

Lira wasn't here anymore and he thought he'd dealt with that.
Obviously he needed a nice willing and uncomplicated tumble. Then
maybe things wouldn't seem such a mess.

Briata pulled the covers over him then patted him on the shoulder.
"Goodnight, Y'gel." She murmured, her voice soft. Then she
straightened and made her way out of the weyr. **Feel free to call me
if he worries you again.** She encouraged the bronze. Hopefully that
wouldn't be necessary. She felt so bad for him...they both had a
similar pain. And it was the sort of pain that would never disappear.

Last updated on the February 19th 2012

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He Always Remembers