I Find You Intriguing

Writers: Avery, Estelle
Date Posted: 14th September 2021

Characters: M'gan, Irrkali
Description: M'gan and Irrkali have a dinner that's supposed to be work and goes elsewhere.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 6, day 22 of Turn 10

Irrkali looked in the polished metal mirror and made sure her hair was
pulled tight against her skull and her runner's tail hung neatly down
her back. Her tunic was a deep blue in color and closely fit to her
body, its only ornamentation cream-colored ribbons to lace it up and
tied in a bow at the top. She had changed into a long skirt instead of
riding pants, to feel more comfortable while sitting around for a long
period.

**This is silly. I'm just meeting him to talk about the class.** So why
was she dressing up like she was trying to see a man for another reason?
She should put on pants. This was silly. She went over to her wardrobe
to get changed, figuring she had time.

}:You don't. Isarth's is ready. We are meeting now.,:{ Jeath
interjected.

To Isarth, she said, }:My rider is ready to meet yours up on a ledge to
have dinner and talk. It was tonight right?:{

}:Yes. We are here.:{ The bronze shared an image of the empty cliff weyr
his rider had chosen, high up enough that the waves crashing on the
shore made a soft rushing sound, and M'gan standing on the ledge looking
out over the sea, his hair reddened by the evening sunlight. By his feet
was a basket, covered with a cloth, and a rolled-up rug. He'd made an
effort to dress smartly, and he tugged at the unfamiliar constriction of
the shirt collar at his neck.

}:They come.:{ Hearing that, M'gan shaded his eyes, looking out over the
water for an approaching green, while Isarth folded his wings and moved
to make space for her to land.

Jeath's hide was well oiled and her wingtips were lit by the sun as she
landed with a precise backwing, tucking her wings and kneeling so
Irrkali could slide off. The greenrider carried a satchel slung around
her body and a small basket in her hand. She smiled at M'gan as she saw
him, briefly struck by the way the sunlight caught his hair.

"I brought a wine I've been saving and two glasses," she said by way of
greeting. "And I see you have well in hand."

"Ah, thank you." M'gan watched as she stepped down from the green, the
sea breeze ruffling her skirts, his eyes widening in pleasure and
surprise. "Yes, I've brought a light dinner. Cold meatrolls, cheese and
fruit. Good evening, Jeath." He bowed politely to the green, then bent
down and unrolled the rug, spreading it out over the ledge. "It's a long
time since I've done this - eating out in the evening air, I mean. The
climate at High Reaches didn't often permit it."

Jeath made a pleased croon in M'gan's direction and told Isarth, }:Your
rider is very polite.:{

"I imagine it's very chilly there and wouldn't be pleasant. Only in the
midsummer," she guessed. "Did you choose to come here for the chance for
more pleasant climes?"

"Partly. It did influence my choice of location to transfer to, but
there were other reasons for my leaving High Reaches." M'gan sat down on
the rug and opened up the basket so that he could begin to share out the
meal. "I led a Wing there, until my wingsecond won the senior queen's
flight. He needed a Wing of his own, and it made sense at first for us
to exchange roles. That worked for a while, but - well, you know
bronzeriders." His lip curled into a wry smile. "Isarth and I were both
itching to lead the wingriders against Thread, but there wasn't a path
for us to do that, since none of the other Wingleaders was near
retirement. I was having to bite my tongue all the time not to question
his orders and I don't imagine it was very comfortable for him, either.
In the end, a transfer seemed best for all concerned."

He turned and offered her a plate, his eyes dancing with amusement. "So
you see, it was sheer pride and ambition that brought me here."

"I can see how it wouldn't be easy to take orders from a man you'd just
led, and unfair to ask another to step down for you. Did you expect
you'd be offered a Wing position where you transferred so soon, or
assume you'd have to wait quite some time?"

"I didn't expect to be Wingleader so soon, that's for certain. I was
hoping that with the riders moving to the new Weyr at Barrier Lake, a
Wingsecond position might open up that I could take on while I was
learning the territory and the people here," M'gan explained as he
filled his own plate. "Of course, I'd led a Wing into a new territory
before, when High Reaches opened up, but back then there wasn't anyone
who knew that Weyr at all and besides, I was young and supremely
confident in my abilities. Here, I've got to learn fast, to show that
I'm as good a choice as a rider who's been here for Turns. I'm lucky
with my Wingsecond, though. K'deren knows the Wing better than anyone."

"Ah, that's fortunate," she said, as she took the plate from him set it
aside. While he worked on finished filling his own, she pulled out two
glasses and said, "Fruit juice, or wine?"

"I won't say no to a sip of wine. Thank you," he said as she filled the
glass and handed it to him. "All seems to be well with Cyclone so far,
anyway. They're a good group of riders, a credit to their former leader.
I'm hoping to get a few steady browns and blues from the next weyrling
graduation to strengthen our core, and perhaps a few experienced
transfers, if it can be managed, to replace those who left for Barrier
Lake." He grinned. "It's a young wing, and they make me feel like an
aged grandsire at times."

"Ah, clearly it's because the Weyrleader stealing all the experienced
ones for his wing and leaving you to babysit. Though you don't look that
old to me. More distinguished," she teased gently.

M'gan threw back his head and laughed. "Distinguished! I like that. I
like that very much." He raised his glass to her. "As to the Weyrleader,
I'm hoping he'll get me my transfers to keep me happy, since I could
tell a story or two about when he was a young bronzerider."

She tapped her glass against his, eyes crinkling with her amusement. "I
bet you have stories of when he was a young troublesome man, hmm? As
opposed to you, who I'm sure has no skeletons in his closet or bad
secrets."

"In my opinion, all good leaders have a murky secret or two from their
young days," he replied, with an guileless air. "Helps to understand the
troublemakers of today, and predict what they're up to before they do
it. Don't you think?"

"That's an intriguing perspective."

M'gan shook his head in mock regret. "That excuse didn't cut any ice
with my Weyrlingmaster when I was a lad, either. But I do believe
there's something in it."

"So did you ever want to be a Weyrlingmaster? Or do you just use your
murky secrets to run herd on young wingriders when they join?" She was
turning this into a bit of an interrogation but at the same time it was
also so intriguing to learn about him.

"I did spend a lot of time helping the Weyrlingmaster when I'd just
graduated. I didn't have a craft or a job, particularly, I wanted to be
flying with Isarth more than anything, so it made sense. But my ambition
was always to lead a Wing." To lead the Weyr, too. A Wingleader's
experience was important for that, or so he'd thought, but it hadn't
worked out that way yet. "These days I've started to think being
Weyrlingmaster's the hardest job in the Weyr. I'd need all my very
darkest secrets and borrow some from friends just to keep up."

"Clearly that's why people rotate between the job so frequently, it
drains all of the secrets from you. Also, I respect that kind of
ambition in a man. It's stereotypical of bronze dragons, they say, but
not all the weyrling ones seem to exhibit that."

"Yes, that's true. Though I can't think of a bronzerider who didn't want
to excel at something. Even if it's getting into trouble and driving his
superiors to distraction." With a quick smile, he set down his empty
plate, reaching for the fruit. "That's true for most riders, one way or
another, but perhaps we bronzeriders are more open about it. Everyone
expects you to be ambitious and driven, so there's no reason to pretend
not to be."

"So rather than it pushing you to play into type, it frees you up to be
who you really are, she mused.

"That's my experience. I can only speak for myself," M'gan said,
selecting a juicy redfruit. "Others may have a different perspective. I
suppose people have been speculating about what dragons look for in a
Candidate's character as long as there have been dragons. Or Candidates,
whichever came first."

"Isn't that the truth. And that reminds me we were supposed to be
talking about weyrlings, at least, in theory. though I'll be honest, I'm
finding this far more enjoyable."

M'gan had forgotten about the weyrlings, too. He'd been absorbed in
their conversation and didn't feel at all ashamed about neglecting his
task, which was unusual for him. He'd much rather learn more about her.
"Well, unless the Weyrlingmaster's planning to promote them tomorrow, we
could always save the weyrlings for another evening dinner," he
suggested.

"You know, I'd be more than all right with that," she said. The idea of
another evening dinner with him was rather appealing. She was finding
that M'gan was rather easy to talk to, and fascinating besides.

"Speaking of the past, I'll tell you a little about myself. I was born
at a Hold, to a mother who had to give up her Craft knots with the
Plagues. But when I was 13, my father moved us to Dragonsfall Weyrhold
to tend their beast herds and give us children more opportunities. I
didn't quite expect to Impress, but of course I'm thrilled I did."

"So, were you hold or weyrbred?" Irrkali asked. She reached for a
dessert while she waited for an answer, almost at the same time as he
did, and their fingers brushed, just for a moment...

M'gan's eyes flicked up as they touched, as if he'd felt a spark between
them. The light of the setting sun, now low in the sky, highlighted the
elegant lines of her face and made her skin glow, and behind them their
shadows stretched back into the empty weyr. For a moment he half-forgot
that she'd asked him a question.

"Oh. Weyrbred, but my parents were crafters, like yours, not riders."
Back then, the clutches had been small and the riders few in number. He
took another piece of fruit, trying to hide his distraction, and thought
back to the records he'd looked over before they'd talked about his
wingthird role. "You were a harper, weren't you?"

The brief touch felt charged to Irrkali, too. Outside of Jeath's
flights, she hadn't really laid with a man since arriving with Dolphin
Cove. M'gan's build was strong, his face attractive, and she'd welcome a
move if he made one. Or if she did. Though if they were to work together
it might not be the best of ideas... She wondered now if Isarth would
chase at her next flight. Dragon's choices made it simpler.

"Ah, yes," she said. "I loved to sing, and the diplomacy and archival
training wound up really interesting and useful as a rider and
wingthird."

"Are you _sure_ you wouldn't like to be my wingthird?" M'gan teased,
only half joking. Though since he'd always tried to keep a purely
professional relationship with his wingriders, he didn't entirely regret
her decision. "I've got a never-ending stack of hidework and - " He
cleared his throat. "I've been told I could use some diplomacy on
occasion."

"Right now I think the weyrlingmaster's staff needs the filling in a
little more, though it was a _very_ tempting offer. What kind of help
with diplomacy do you need, though?"

"Well..." He rubbed the back of his neck with one hand. "I've never been
good at small talk with Lords and Ladies, especially the silly ones."
Perhaps it was all to the good that he'd not won the Weyrleadership back
at High Reaches. "And sometimes my language can get a tad colorful when
a drill hasn't gone well. Fortunately I've taken over a Wing that's well
trained, but with the weyrlings joining us, it's only a matter of time."

She laughed. "Worried about teaching them bad habits? Or that you're
human?"

"Human wouldn't be so bad. I'm more concerned that the new riders will
start out thinking I'm a grouchy old watchwher." He made a wry face.
"They can learn that over time."

Irrkali leaned forward and tapped his nose with a fork. "Too handsome to
be a watchwher."

M'gan blinked, and then a slow, pleased smile spread over his face. "You
_are_ good at diplomacy." He leaned in closer, an invitation in his
voice. "I'd love to learn more from you."

She let herself shift closer as well. "Let me know when and what."

"For the what - anything and everything that you'd enjoy in my company."
He met her gaze and raised a hand to lightly brush her cheek with the
backs of his fingers. "And as to when... I've no other plans for
tonight?"

"I don't have any either, so I'd very much enjoy continuing to talk."
She half-closed her eyes, the lashes shading the deep brown color. "I
find you quite intriguing."

"Intriguing _and_ distinguished? You certainly know how to charm a
bronzerider." M'gan spoke teasingly, but the light of interest in his
eyes made it clear that he was indeed, more than a little charmed, and
not just by the compliments. This evening was turning out to be an
unexpected pleasure, in many ways...

Last updated on the October 1st 2021

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I Find You Intriguing