Eggshells and Lies

Writers: Iluva, Shawna
Date Posted: 28th August 2025

Characters: Cirina, A'radess, N'kevyn
Description: Cirina further weaves her web of lies
Location: Barrier Lake Weyr
Date: month 8, day 20 of Turn 12
Notes: Mentioned: Aydhara

A'radess

N'kevyn

As soon as Slate had appeared with the note, Cirina had scrambled to change, and the candidate was still weaving her red hair into a braid when she met the massive bronze bulk of her ride.

“Don’t tell anyone,” N’kevyn winked as he leaned over to give her a lift up the bronze’s shoulder. “My first trip is supposed to be VIPs. But strap in quick.”

She obliged, and was just as quick to unstrap herself when they arrived at BLW, barely hitting the ground before Avicath took off again for his formal passengers. Exchanging barely more than a good luck hug with Aydhara, she shooed her friend off to get changed and ready before finding herself a little at loss with how to kill the time until the eggs started cracking in earnest.

So, she went on the prowl.

Her target was so easy to find that it was almost suspicious. Standing there, looking far too handsome, green eyes scanning the crowd for something. Sending Digger off with instructions to go find snacks, she spent a moment straightening her dress (new), and checking her hair (braided, but not as neatly as she’d have liked) before walking over to a certain young bronzerider.

With the boldness of a much more impressive false identity, Cirina (Caprina) walked over, casually putting her hand on A’radess’s back. “Hey handsome. Not busy ferrying guests?”

A'radess’ fingers had been drumming a silent rhythm against his glass, waiting without impatience. Already it was a good day and he was in a fine mood. The excitement in the air had completely saturated his bond with his bronze, and with Tarvanneth’s hum pulsing pleasantly alongside his thoughts, a sweet and steady beat, their duties hardly felt like work.

Between flights, his mind kept drifting back to his own moment. To the few clusters of eggs still twitching, broken shards stealing the light like millions of tiny mirrors. And suddenly the bronze was _there_, shiny wet with fluid and running at _him_ and then A’radess’ back was in the boiling sand. A memory as sharp and sublime now as it was then.

It was his first time on the outside - no longer a candidate desperate for a bond, but a wingrider and facilitator. Twenty nine eggs this time. Twenty nine chances. Twenty nine new dragonets.

Now he was here - clean shaven, flightjacket open but still on just in case they were summoned or signalled, Ash wingrider knots gleaming. And since it had been a while since they had been summoned, he was just scanning the crowds on the look-out for his parents at this point.

But then - that voice.

He recognized that voice.

The press of her hand through his jacket sparked a shiver and fresh flash of memory.

A'radess turned and he couldn't help the way his lips became a smile, didn’t fight the way his eyes swept over Cirina’s face in a way that was admiring, yet undeniably surprised, as if in slight disbelief of it actually being her. “Well, look what the wind blew in.” He said in a low, approving voice. “We finished early, actually. I'm just hanging here on standby in case I'm needed.” A'radess’ mouth curved in amusement. “It’s really good to see you, Caprina. Surprising Aydhara, as well?”

“Well, I’d be a bad friend if I didn’t take the opportunity to see her Impress,” she said optimistically. “So, one could say you’re available to entertain a hatching guest?”

“Yes, you would be.” He agreed, teasing. “And one could say I’m available for the next little while, yeah. I'm sitting with my family, so I just need to be back before the Hatching actually starts.” After a beat, A’radess reached up and tucked loose red strands behind her ear, knuckles ghosting her earlobe and jaw. “What did you have in mind? Something to drink? Somewhere quieter to talk and put your feet up…”

Her smile changed, became a little softer, and she may have leaned a bit towards the touch. “I was thinking someplace quiet, there will be so much noise later, you know? Your weyr was very cozy,” of course there’d only been one part of it she’d really seen. “I promise to have you back to your family before the first dragon starts wailing for food and faceplanting in the sands,” Caprina (Cirina) said with a distinct air of familiarity. “I’m supposed to sit by N’kevyn, anyway.” She hoped the thought of the older, louder bronzerider would discourage any attempts to seek her out at the event itself. It was risky to try to keep up the false identity, but that just added to the thrill of excitement that had her hooking her arm through his, “But I think we have a little time. They can’t be halfway through ferrying the guests in.”

“Ah, right this way then.” The last time Cirina was here it had been far too dark to get the full-effect of the glittering weyrlake.

This time a flurry of dragons filled most of the free air with their passengers. The sun trying to peek between the clouds did little to alter how the lake was just a blurred shroud of colors that day.

Neither of them seemed to mind.

Tarvanneth waited for a pack of greens to disperse before he backwinged onto the busy weyrbowl. Eagerly he called to his rider and the tanned woman on his arm, the sharp flick of his tail a symptom of his readiness and excitement as much as the blue tempest of his eyes. A’radess’ heart picked up a little more speed for this particular passenger, as well, smile never faltering. “He’s a bit bigger this time, but he’s not much tamer.” A’radess teased, his fingers lacing with Cirina’s as they approached and climbed up the big bronze, a closeness already rooting in the way they sat.

“Oh, you say that like it's a bad thing,” Cirina said with a teasing scolding tone. “You look very pretty today, Tarvanneth,” she remembered his name, of course, and flashed a smile in the direction of those big eyes before letting A’radess help her onto his back. She only pulled her hand from his when she absolutely had to to get herself settled.

She'd ridden here on Avicath, but they didn't need to know that when she put an arm around A’radess to steady herself, leaning in so that her breath whispered in his ear when she said, “He is taller, though, I can tell. It must be a workout climbing up on him every day.” It was hard to resist the urge to run a hand appreciatively up his shoulder, and the only thing that stopped her was eagerness to get somewhere less public, where she could take the time to really inspect how the young bronzerider held up to the pleasant memories of the night of the bonfire.

“I've been hoping I could run into you again,” she said as they took off, her face still close to his neck, lips brushing against skin in a hint of what she had in mind, “I had a lot of fun.”

“Me too,” A’radess smiled over his shoulder at her, the press of this woman behind him igniting a few choice memories all at once. His hand slid atop her thigh, holding her close, his face turned toward her as cool wind and warm breath chased them all the way to their ledge. Every brush against him sparked instant and rampant warmth, a low humming of approval beneath his skin. It was agonizingly familiar. But he wasn’t a pining, pent up Weyrling anymore - he didn’t need her to know that he was as easily undone as one.

Tarvanneth swooped up and turned on his ledge with the same thorough precision he had when it was dark and his passengers quite drunk. A’radess ran a hand through his hair, beyond grateful to be sitting in front of Cirina rather than behind right now. He adjusted himself subtly as the bronze crouched down and tried to momentarily think of the things he’d wanted to say in the months between their first meeting and the next.

“You know, I was wondering when we’d see each other again. You must have so many new stories from being on circuit.” He mused, carefully rising from his dragon’s neck, and the moment they were both on the ledge his fingers laced with hers again, tugging her into his home with an indulgent grin. “You’ll have to tell me some if we have time.”

The lips almost touching his neck curled into a smile. He might not be a pining, pent up weyrling, but she was a candidate, with all the lack of privacy that involved. It wasn’t restrictions that kept her wound tight, but obstacles all the same. As Tarvanneth landed, Cirina put her hand over A’radess’s on her thigh, giving it a squeeze before sliding away from him, if only to slide down the bronze’s side.

As soon as their feet were on solid ground, Cirina pounced, pressing close and looking up at him with the hint of a smirk. She was tall, but not as tall as him, and she liked having to lean her head back to look up at him. “Oh, it’s just a lot of quiet, boring holds,” she lied, hands already sliding his jacket off his shoulders before slipping inside his shirt. “I’m sure we can find something much more interesting. And we don’t have too much time,” she reminded. “Just remind Tarvanneth to warn us when it really starts.”

“Yes, ma'am.” A'radess said in a low, enticing voice, his smile now leaning closer to her smirk.

Out on his ledge the bronze sat on high alert, watching the incoming and outgoing traffic like he were the designated watchdragon himself. His wings stayed half-open, ready, even as a huff cut through the hum, making a snide comment about how he wouldn't be allowed to chase in the middle of a Hatching, so this hardly seemed fair. A'radess thought back as sympathetically as he could, **Sorry, bud. Your girls take a lot longer. Mine’s ready to fly now.**

The bronze grumbled.

And though he was cognizant of the day’s constraints, and the way his heart thudded against her hand, A’radess’ hands didn’t rush. His touch pooled on her shoulders, the frame of her face, and already he’d decided: he liked seeing her better in the light. Cirina had practically worn fire the night they met, her dazzling red hair glowing against the boil of flames. But his green eyes could trace the grey of hers like this, as clear and light as the sky, complete with the delicate fan of her lashes, the impish glint following his movements.

“You know what?” A’radess tilted her chin just a fraction higher, voice low and warm against her lips. “You’re right.” The wall came up gently behind Cirina as they kissed, and a heady mix of passion and the need to have her close again saw him insistently pushing the straps of her dress down her arms. “We’re far better off giving you a good Weyr story while you're here.”

Cirina had hoped to manage sultry and alluring, but the grin that pulled at her lips had more joy than restraint. Her breath caught as he backed her up against the wall, and she didn’t let it out again as he tipped her chin up. The way he looked at her was thrilling, like she was someone worth noticing. Too often lately she’d felt too easily overlooked. When she finally broke the kiss, it was to catch her breath as she fumbled with his clothes. “Show me what you’re capable of, bronzerider,” she challenged, dragging him closer.

It wasn’t much later when they were panting on the floor, still half tangled in clothing. “That was better than I remembered. It’s a pity Barrier Lake is so far from-” a hitch, “where I’m stationed. The time difference, you know.”

“You know just what to say to a guy.” A'radess chuckled, still breathless, his back flat against the cool stone of the living area. His grip on the small of Cirina's back migrated lazily up to smooth her hair away from their faces, and then he grinned, pulling her lips back to his again like they had all the time in the world. “It is a pity.” He whispered in satisfied agreement.

}:Sorry to interrupt,:{ - no he wasn't - }:but you two need to head out here very soon. The arrivals are tapering and I want to see the babies when they hatch, not after.:{

A'radess sighed. **Alright.** “I dunno if it's good timing or bad timing, but we have to get going pretty soon.” He pressed another sigh into her skin. “Tarvanneth said it's time.” He was still running a bit hotter than he'd really like to be around his parents, crammed in next to them and some strangers high up in the Stands, but he was hardly complaining about this turn of events.

And Cirina would have to leave again somewhere on the other side of the Hatching. Still lying on the floor, A'radess tried not to sound overly curious when he started to button up his shirt, asking, “Ever think of getting a firelizard, Caprina? You could write to us or send Tarv a visual.”

She smiled, hands lazily exploring, wishing they did have more time for a thorough investigation of every inch of the bronzerider she sprawled over. Sighing at the warning, she pushed herself up, helping him straighten his shirt a bit in an excuse to keep her hands on him a few more moments before she started resettling her own dress.

“Oh, they’re a lot of work to take care of and train when they’re babies.” A pause, “Or so I’ve heard. Maybe after my circuit, but I’m just so busy right now,” she lied. “Plus, you know, the cost.” Very careful not to think of Digger, lest he get curious and pop in to check on her, she stood, looking around for a mirror as she tried to smooth down mussed hair. “This was fun,” she felt strangely shy for a moment, “We’ll have to do it again some time. Maybe I’ll be back for Turns End or something.”

It was really stupid to try to plan anything, considering she was lying to him, but the quick tumble had only reminded her how much she had enjoyed his company. “Tarvanneth is looking a little impatient now, though. We should head down.”

Tarvanneth, crooning his whole-hearted approval, was already sweeping low on the ledge for them.

A'radess, trying not to look too conflicted at her answer, instead appeared in the mirror beside her, running his hands through his hair a few times, then over it, trying to smooth it down again somewhat. Helmet hair, if anyone asked, even if his breathing was still suspiciously rough.

“Ah, well, another pity, then.” He winked both lazily and playfully to Cirina’s freckled reflection, the picture of ease. “Turns End would be fun, though.” Turns End was also months from now; her circuit must be either vast or the curriculum extensive. “I hope it won't be quite that long before we cross paths again.”

A quick double check on the fastenings of his pants, the laces on his boots, and his jacket was sliding up his shoulders as quick as Cirina’s hands had pushed it down. “Don’t feel too badly for him, Caprina. Tarvanneth was born impatient. It’s good for him to wait a little.”

Lacing their fingers one last time, A’radess tugged her back out to his dragon and the impending Hatching. “Alright. Come on, you've got a friend to watch Impress.”

Last updated on the September 2nd 2025

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Eggshells and Lies