Post by wordy on Feb 22, 2010 15:06:37 GMT 10
Title: Understanding
Rating: G
Prompt: #8 Strange Bedfellows
Summary: Briar is anxious about dealing with his night terrors.
A/N: This was supposed to be all Daja and Briar bond-ness, but somehow turned fluffy at the end. Meh.
Briar woke to the sunlight filtering in through his window and a sturdy back pressed against his own. For a moment, he was confused, until he sat up and saw the thick, black braids and the edge of a copper coloured cheek. Daja.
Scrubbing his face with his hands, he tried to remember what had caused the night terrors this time. It must have been the Hub bell; he faintly recalled hearing it just as he was drifting off to sleep. With a sigh, he got up and tore his shirt over his head. It was soaked with sweat, an unpleasant reminder of last night.
"Morning."
Briar turned, startled. "Sorry, Daj. I was going to let you sleep."
Daja waved a hand dismissively while letting out a wide yawn. "It's okay. I should get to work anyway."
She got up and went back to her room to get dressed, leaving Briar feeling slightly uneasy. He shouldn't make a habit of waking other people up in the middle of the night, he knew, just as he shouldn't get used to Daja following him back to his room and sleeping next to him. He felt he was becoming a nuisance. Besides, Rosethorn had gotten over her own night terrors two weeks ago - why hadn't he?
When Daja returned, dressed in her work clothes for the forge, her mass of braids tied back at the base of her neck, she found Briar exactly where she left him, standing and staring at the shirt in his hands. With a sigh, she went and pried it away from him, tossing it on the bed. He wouldn't look at her.
"Briar, you need to stop worrying," she said.
"How can I? I wake you up nearly every night because of these stupid nightmares. I should be over it by now."
Daja shook her head. "It takes longer for some people to forget the things they've seen. It doesn't make you weak. And worrying about it - and about waking me up - only makes it harder to heal. Okay?" She looked at him with dark eyes, and Briar was glad for once that it was Daja who had claimed the other first-floor bedroom, and not Sandry or Tris.
Finally he nodded. "Alright."
Daja nodded. "Alright. I'm going to the forge, I'll be finished around midday."
After she left, Briar got dressed and washed his face in the kitchen. When she returned for lunch, grimy and soaked through with sweat, Briar was nowhere to be found. On the way to her room to change her clothes, she stopped short when she saw a bare foot through his room's ajar door. He lay on his pallet, arm thrown over his head, fast asleep. Daja smiled.
Rating: G
Prompt: #8 Strange Bedfellows
Summary: Briar is anxious about dealing with his night terrors.
A/N: This was supposed to be all Daja and Briar bond-ness, but somehow turned fluffy at the end. Meh.
Briar woke to the sunlight filtering in through his window and a sturdy back pressed against his own. For a moment, he was confused, until he sat up and saw the thick, black braids and the edge of a copper coloured cheek. Daja.
Scrubbing his face with his hands, he tried to remember what had caused the night terrors this time. It must have been the Hub bell; he faintly recalled hearing it just as he was drifting off to sleep. With a sigh, he got up and tore his shirt over his head. It was soaked with sweat, an unpleasant reminder of last night.
"Morning."
Briar turned, startled. "Sorry, Daj. I was going to let you sleep."
Daja waved a hand dismissively while letting out a wide yawn. "It's okay. I should get to work anyway."
She got up and went back to her room to get dressed, leaving Briar feeling slightly uneasy. He shouldn't make a habit of waking other people up in the middle of the night, he knew, just as he shouldn't get used to Daja following him back to his room and sleeping next to him. He felt he was becoming a nuisance. Besides, Rosethorn had gotten over her own night terrors two weeks ago - why hadn't he?
When Daja returned, dressed in her work clothes for the forge, her mass of braids tied back at the base of her neck, she found Briar exactly where she left him, standing and staring at the shirt in his hands. With a sigh, she went and pried it away from him, tossing it on the bed. He wouldn't look at her.
"Briar, you need to stop worrying," she said.
"How can I? I wake you up nearly every night because of these stupid nightmares. I should be over it by now."
Daja shook her head. "It takes longer for some people to forget the things they've seen. It doesn't make you weak. And worrying about it - and about waking me up - only makes it harder to heal. Okay?" She looked at him with dark eyes, and Briar was glad for once that it was Daja who had claimed the other first-floor bedroom, and not Sandry or Tris.
Finally he nodded. "Alright."
Daja nodded. "Alright. I'm going to the forge, I'll be finished around midday."
After she left, Briar got dressed and washed his face in the kitchen. When she returned for lunch, grimy and soaked through with sweat, Briar was nowhere to be found. On the way to her room to change her clothes, she stopped short when she saw a bare foot through his room's ajar door. He lay on his pallet, arm thrown over his head, fast asleep. Daja smiled.