Five of Cups
Dragonsfall Weyr
Amber Hills Hold
Vintner Hall
Healer Hall
Hidden Meadows
Dolphin Cove Weyr
Dolphin Hall
Emerald Falls Hold
Harper Hall
Printer Hall
Green Valley Hold
Leeward Lagoon Hold
Barrier Lake Weyr
Sunstone Seahold
Citrus Bay Hold
Writers: Devin, Halyonix
Date Posted: 27th August 2025
Series: Bronze and Blue Entwined
Characters: K'mai, I'serin
Description: I'serin stays the night with K'mai
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 7, day 24 of Turn 12
Notes: Mentioned: L'val
Notes:
~*~
Aluneth carried him wordlessly up to K'mai's weyr. I'serin felt only marginally better after talking with L'val, though not through any fault of L'val. I'serin felt hollowed out, as though the seven months of the Turn were actually seven Turns. Aluneth's declaration that I'serin was going to spend the night with K'mai would have normally brought on a bout of panic.
Oddly enough, I'serin felt nothing. Perhaps that was a good thing.
Alerted by Sebeth, K'mai was waiting on the ledge and held his arms out as soon as I'serin had dismounted. "Come here, sweetheart."
The endearment fluttered faintly against I'serin's dulled heart. He slid into K'mai's embrace with a soundless sigh. His fingers gripped the bluerider tightly, a buoy in the next wave of grief that was now coming to wash over him. With a soft rumble, Aluneth moved to curl himself around both riders, leaving enough space for Sebeth to join in. A living bronze and blue shield against the world as I'serin began to cry.
Sebeth crooned softly as K'mai held I'serin. He hadn't wished for A'len to die, but he couldn't help wishing that the man had been worthy of such grief.
The tears did not last as long this time. They ebbed within a few minutes, though I'serin's voice was still watery as he said, "Aluneth s-said that I was to s-stay here." There was a pause, a shuddering breath. "I d-do not want to b-be alone." Alone left room for him to overthink it all, all over again.
K'mi gently wiped the dampness from I'serin's cheeks. "I was going to insist. I wouldn't let you be alone right now." He laced their fingers and gently tugged I'serin toward the weyr. "Come on. Do you want something to drink? Water?"
He wanted alcohol. He wanted to be numb. Unfeeling. Carved out and devoid. He wanted months to pass. To wake up and it would be summer. Or autumn. Any time except the hard season that he was in. How was he to lead a Weyr like this? How was he to do _anything_?
"Water," he answered dully as he let K'mai lead him. If he drank, it would be without restraint and he would regret it deeply in the morning. That much he could foresee.
K'mai got him settled on the couch before he went to pour the bronzerider a glass of water. He handed it to I'serin and then sat close to him, their bodies pressed together. "Do you want to talk? Or I could entertain you with gossip."
In another lifetime, I'serin would have found it humorous that the very inane chatter he often avoided would be the thing he craved to distract him from the reality presented him. "Gossip," he said. He leaned his head on K'mai's shoulder and cradled the glass of water in his hands.
There were always plenty of stories going around the Weyr, and K'mai went on about who was getting together and who was breaking up, trouble various weyrbrats were getting into, and bits of news from other Weyrs.
I'serin listened with his eyes closed, letting K'mai's voice flow around him, weathering away the sharp edges of grief. When K'mai paused in his storytelling, I'serin moved one arm to drape it across K'mai's middle, a mannerism quickly becoming familiar after sex. "I do not know what to do," he admitted quietly.
"You don't need to. Just let yourself feel," K'mai said gently. "We could talk, or I could just sit with you."
The thought of feeling sounded awful and even though I'serin knew logically that it would both happen without his consent and that it was needed in order to heal, he still shifted mentally to avoid it. "This Turn has been awful," he remarked with a weary sigh. "Aside from you."
"I'm glad I can be a bright spot." K'mai slid an arm around him. "I wish things had been better for you, but through all this struggle, you're becoming stronger."
I'serin could see it, far in the future, yet he said, "I do not feel as though I am becoming stronger. I feel...brittle. Hollow."
"Of course you feel like that now. But you were stronger before, and you'll be stronger after."
The bronzerider did not reply to that. He instead snuggled closer to K'mai, hiding himself in the feel of the bluerider there with Aluneth pressing against his mind.
K'mai brought his hand up and began running his fingers gently through I'serin's hair.
Eventually, the weight of the day and its feelings, combined with K'mai's fingers in his hair, began to lull I'serin into the heavy-limbed sensation that preceded sleep. There was a momentary thought, tinged with its usual panic, that he should leave before being discovered. But that thought dissipated as I'serin sighed quietly. }: He should rest, :{ Aluneth relayed to Sebeth.
K'mai smiled slightly at the bronze's care for his rider. He'd noticed I'serin drooping and had been just about to suggest they move. "Come on, love, let's get to bed," he said with a gentle nudge.
He felt like someone had wrapped heavy stones to all parts of him as he moved but at K'mai's insistence, I'serin plodded towards the bluerider's bed, too tired to listen to the panic gibbering at the edge of his mind even as he stripped off his shirt. "Do not let me sleep too late," he said wearily, though he wished that he could sleep for days uninterrupted.
He was also unaware that Aluneth was quietly canceling or delegating the morning appointments, clearing I'serin's schedule. The Weyr could manage without their beleaguered Weyrleader for a few extra hours. }: Let your rider take care of him, :{ the bronze dragon said to Sebeth.
}:K'mai will take good care of him. He has done this before.:{ Sebeth could see that from his thoughts and memories.
As they got into bed, K'mai pulled I'serin close, tucking the bronzerider against his chest. "Rest," he said softly. Sometimes the exhaustion of grief pulled someone down into a deep sleep, other times nightmares and restlessness made for a long night. Whatever happened, K'mai would be there for him.
Last updated on the August 29th 2025
[Prev: Where Duty Falls] Series: Bronze and Blue Entwined [Next: Getting Lost in Sensation] PG-17