Life Advice You Shouldn't Take

Writers: Shawna, Aaron
Date Posted: 23rd November 2025

Characters: Vianne, Cirina
Description: Vianne tells Cirina her plan for admitting her GRAVE TRANSGRESSION to I'thralos.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 11, day 2 of Turn 12
Notes: Mentioned: I'thralos, T’gyros, R'lor

"Cirina." Vianne whispered loudly at her friend. "CIRINA."

It had been an excruciatingly long time, and for two very horrifying days, Vianne had been absolutely certain she had gotten herself...

Deep breath.

WITH CHILD.

By a man who was not her husband.

Thank the sun, moons, stars, and various other unrelated bodies, she had finally started to bleed.

She was not sure what drove her to tell Cirina. Maybe Vianne hoped somewhere deep inside herself that she would tell her something, give her some hope that I'thralos could even begin to forgive her.

Maybe she hoped that Cirina would tell her that her brother was a BIG PRANKSTER and maybe they had never actually...

Well, you know.

But whatever it was, she told Cirina.

"I need to talk to you."

"Okay," Cirina's stage whisper was just as inappropriately loud, "Who do I need to have Digger poop on? What's wrong?"

Vianne had not expected that question. Her breath caught in her throat, and she squeaked as tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Meeeeeeee..."

She did deserve a firelizard-pooping.

"Did you see me at your... party... thing...?"

It was not quite a party. What was the opposite of a party?

"When we drank the..." She turned a little green. "the rum?"

"Yeah, when you were flirting with my brother at MY pity party? I remember," Cirina teased.

"Skies. Fire, flame, and ashes..." So, yes, Vianne did have to tell I'thralos before someone else did. "I woke up in his weyr the next day."

"Vianne, don't tell me you slept with my foster brother," Cirina looked horrified.

"All right. I won't tell you." Vianne squeezed her eyes shut and rubbed them. "I don't even remember it, but he sure did."

"What were you thinking? Aren't you supposed to be all married? Tied to just one boy and all that," Cirina frowned.

"I don't know what I was thinking! I can't remember doing it!" Vianne wailed. "I am married. I don't understand how I could have done this, either." Tears flowed down her cheeks. "I'm never touching another drop of booze so long as I live."

"Let's not be hasty," Cirina said seriously, "no boy is worth giving up booze. Besides, I'm sure uh... it'll be fine. 'Cause, he's a bronzerider now, so soon he'll be, you know... chasing greens." Weyrbred as she was, even she didn't sound convinced by that logic.

"That little monster... If not for him, none of this would have happened!" Vianne cried through gritted teeth. "I was supposed to be the one they wanted! They didn't even look at me, they didn't want me one little bit! How could that dragon bring me here and make _this_ out of me, out of _us_!?"

"What monster? Vianne are you ok? Here, why don't you come sit down," she gestured towards her seating options of "bunk" or "storage chest".

"That horrid little dragon that stole my husband! Injustith, whatever is name is!" Vianne slumped down onto the storage chest and hid her face in her hands. "This isn't what I thought it would be like," she sobbed.

It took Cirina a moment to catch up, but then she immediately settled down next to Vianne, giving her shoulder a squeeze, "Hey, don't be like that. I mean, it's awful, I get it, but isn't this really better in the long run? You'll get your green next time,and then you and your uh, husband can be riders together! Proper Weyrmates. You won't be stuck in a ground weyr because he doesn't have a dragon. He'll get all the rider stuff already."

"Me? Don't you see? They don't want me! It was always him!" Vianne shuddered. "And even if some poor green does decide to settle for me someday, why would he want me? Why would he want me, when now he knows he's a _bronzerider_. He deserves a proper goldrider now, doesn't he? He's going to be a wingleader or even Weyrleader someday, and I? What am I?

"Just... a mirror. A reflection."

"That's not how it works. If you weren't eligible, the weyrlingmasters would have kicked you out already. It just means he had potential, too," Cirina gave her shoulder another pat. "And as far as I know, goldriders are just people, and bronzeriders aren't entitled to them. Even if they were, there's like ten times as many bronzeriders as goldriders. The rest of them have to date someone. Why not the one they," she stressed her next words, "already liked enough to marry?"

"That was all well and good before I got drunk and f--"

Her breath caught in her throat.

"Bedded your brother," she hissed. "How could he ever forgive me? Why should he?"

"Well uh. Maybe you just never tell him. You just take it to your grave." Frowning, Cirina said, "I'll talk to T’gyros, make sure he knows not to blab about it. He's probably more terrified of your toddler than your husband, but I'll explain it's important."

"Everyone at that party saw me," said Vianne. "The only thing worse than doing this would be doing it and then lying about it."

"But they didn't see you sleeping with him. If you woke up and didn't remember doing it, how do you know it even happened? Just uh play dumb." Cirina advised in a tone that implied more wisdom than the teen could actually lay claim to.

In the Holds, seeing Vianne fly off to another man's weyr was more than enough evidence. It would be enough for Ilthralos. And he would know if she lied to him. Fire, how could she lie on top of doing this to him?

Whatever the answer was, Vianne was clearly not going to find it from talking it out with Cirina. That was just what she wanted to hear, not what she really needed to hear.

"Yeah, maybe that would work." It would not. She collected herself and wiped her eyes on her arm.

"And if you do tell him, well, just apologize. You didn't mean it, right? Accidents happen... I'm sure it'll be fine. And if not well, you don't need him. You'll have a dragon and dragons are better than men," Cirina reminded her.

Accidents happen.

Whoops, sorry, I'thralos. I tripped and fell onto his--

Well. He was not going to buy it as an accident. Especially because she had already gotten drunk and done something stupid once before. Only this was a thousand times worse.

"_He'll_ have a dragon," she said. And dragons were surely better than drunk women who slipped and fell into other men's beds, too.

"You'll both have dragons," Cirina insisted. "But you have to stay positive about it."

Vianne raised an eyebrow.

"Did someone give you an inspiring pep talk since the last time I saw you?"

"I can't wallow for more than two days in a row. It's bad for my complexion," Cirina said seriously. "So you should watch out."

"Am I breaking out?" Vianne resisted the urge to touch her face, but she would not be surprised.

"Not yet, but it's only a matter of time, so it's time to start working on some positive thinking. Dragons aren't going to want a mopey rider!" Cirina advised earnestly.

Well. Things were going to get a lot mopier before they cheered up.

"Yeah."

Cirina sighed, "So, do you want to head back to the main area and do some studying? Or we could go down to the kitchens and try to charm ourselves a bottle of wine."

"No wine." Never again. She was not sure she could stomach studying, either. "I think... I think I'm going to go talk to R'lor."

The redhead made a face, "Why would you do that? I don't think the man has any idea how relationships work. He assigns sex homework. He's the last person I'd talk to."

That got a snort and a grin from Vianne, if only for a moment.

"Well. Maybe he'll know who I should talk to, then."

Of course, she was only going to him for access to I'thralos, but she did not want to argue that point with Cirina anymore.

"Doubt it, but you could try. Good luck, I guess. Try not to die of embarrassment," she said, very seriously. "And if I'thralos is a dick, remember you don't need a boy, just a dragon."

Last updated on the December 30th 2025

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Life Advice You Shouldn't Take