The Cusp of Something New

Writers: Heather, Yvonne
Date Posted: 11th March 2025

Characters: Thiseta, Teigan
Description: Thiseta returns to Windswept Islands Weyr after her meeting with Aydhan and Agyta
Location: Elsewhere on Pern
Date: month 4, day 21 of Turn 12
Notes: Mentioned: Aydhan, Kapera, Rasme, Agyta

Teigan

Teigan stood amidst his belongings, staring at the two trunks and one sack that constituted his entire life. Although he had agreed to move with Thiseta to Barrier Lake, it still wasn't without some reservation. He liked Windswept. He liked the patients he had come to feel connected to over the past four Turns. He even liked the cantankerous Weyrhealer he worked for in the infirmary.

But he loved Thiseta more than all of those things and where she went, he too would go.

The scrape of talons on stone told him that his weyrmate had returned from Barrier Lake.

"There you are." The woman herself strode in from the ledge and headed straight toward him, flinging herself into his arms with a sigh. "I _missed_ you."

"And I missed you," Teigan said as he folded her in against his body. "The weyr felt incredibly lonely without you."

"Mmm." She buried her face in his tunic, inhaling the scent of redwort and _him_ that told her that she was home. She'd only been at Barrier Lake Weyr for a couple of days but it had felt longer. "What did you get up to while I was gone, besides missing me?"

"Well, I closed out my last four patients. Updated their records. Packed my things, oh, and got this for you." He produced a small jewelry pouch from his pocket. "To celebrate new beginnings."

"Ooo! You shouldn't have!" It was the expected response but Thiseta was reaching for the bag with grabby fingers. She paused to give Teigan a kiss on the cheek before opening it and pouring a pendant on a golden chain onto her palm. A golden disc winked up at her, about the same size as a mark. The enameled shadows of two dragons chased each other around the edge. Thiseta whirled to kiss him again, this time with much more passion than the little kiss on the cheek she'd bestowed before. "Teigan, this is-- oh, this is too much. I love it."

Another one of Teigan's rare smiles. "I'm glad." He loved seeing her smile. There had been plenty of things in the past four Turns that had brought sadness or heartache, but this, moving to Barrier Lake, was something he hoped marked the beginning of only good things.

"Put it on for me?" Thiseta swept her shoulder-length brown hair off to one side as she handed Teigan the necklace.

Teigan put the delicate gold chain around her neck and clasped it into place. He followed it by pressing a kiss to the junction of her neck, his arms wrapping around her waist from behind. "Well? How was Barrier Lake? Do you like the other goldriders there?"

"Aydhan and Rasme are lovely. You'll like Aydhan-- did I mention that she's a healer too? She gave me a firelizard egg! Wasn't that the sweetest thing?" Thiseta was silent for a moment. "I didn't see Kapera."

A goldrider healer, that piqued Teigan's interest. He hadn't heard of many weyrwomen who were also in the healercraft. Then again, he'd only lived at Dragonsfall and Windswept and had spent the majority of his life at Jade Harbor Hold. The mention of the name 'Kapera' sent a shudder down Teigan's spine. "Which one's Rasme?" he asked, decidedly avoiding the topic of the dragonless Weyrwoman.

She leaned back against him. "Rame's retired. She's from Vista Point. She's only got one eye. She's a dragonhealer... I guess both goldriders are healers..." She trailed off, thinking again of Kapera. Both she and the former Weyrwoman had been at Windswept Islands Weyr when Thread had first fallen on Pern, and their relationship at the time had been... fraught. Then Kapera had won the Weyrwoman's knots at Dragonsfall Weyr, until she'd returned to Windswept Island Weyr with an illness. They'd crossed paths then in the Infirmary instead of in the skies.

But that was then, and Kapera's misfortunes were her own opportunities. Goldriders had to be practical. She twisted in Teigan's arms so she could face him. "You'll like Barrier Lake, I think. The Infirmary is all new."

"The infirmary _is_ the way to my heart, as you found out." Teigan smiled down at her. "I've been asking around and everyone says the infirmary at Barrier Lake is new and superior to anything else around. I look forward to seeing if the rumors are true. I've never lived at a lake before. Waterfalls? Check. Oceans? Check. But a lake will be something new."

"It does look like the ocean, but it smells... different. You'll see." She stood on tiptoes to kiss him on the chin. "I promise this will be a good move for us."

"But you know what would be even better for us, _right now_?" There was a gleam in her weyrmate's eyes. "Saying goodbye to this weyr _properly_. You know, the same way we said 'hello' to it."

**Absence makes the heart grow fonder.** Thiseta wasn't hard to persuade. She let her body mould against her weyrmate's. "I will miss this place. I would like to give it a proper send off... perhaps in the same order that we moved in?"

"Hm," he growled against her ear. "I believe that means we start with the dining table."

"Really? I thought it was up against the front door--umph," Thiseta's words were lost in a kiss. It was an argument that she was very pleased to lose.

"Oh, you know, I think you're right," Teigan said, his hands sliding down to her thighs where he easily hoisted her up. "To the door it is."

She wrapped her limbs around him and clung on like a limpet. It felt good to be back here, with her weyrmate. It felt like home... and she again felt that twinge of uncertainty. Things were good here. If she didn't win a Weyrwoman's knots, then losing all of this and disrupting Teigan's life-- it would be for nothing.

Thiseta pushed the errant thoughts aside. She'd made her choice, and whatever came next, they'd live with it.

Last updated on the March 26th 2025

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The Cusp of Something New