Interesting Possibilities

Cosenne woke slowly, swimming back up to full consciousness through a mist of warm, semi-exhausted pleasure.

First, as always, she reached for Fillioth. He slept, still, but even while insensate, his consciousness wrapped around her in that deep, intense, soul-searing love. She took a moment to revel in it, and then opened her eyes.

Blonde hair like spun gold fanned out in front of her. Her arm lay cradled over a lithe, muscular form. Another arm (N'set's of course. She knew his scent and touch like she knew her own), lay across her own waist.

Ah. Yes. That was what happened.

She shifted slightly, enough to cause her two companions to stir and make sleepy noises. Cosenne laughed, for whether they meant it or not, they both began to stroke her at the same time. N'set's hand on her hip. Casriel's fingers twining with her own.

"This is lovely," Cosenne murmured. "And much as I"m tempted to stay, I find that I've needs that must be seen to. Give me a moment, lovely ones, and I will return posthaste."

And with that, she slipped out from between the two of them and excused herself in search of the privy.

N'set stretched, luxuriously, feeling every muscle used in Fall, in flight, in aftermath.

Flight - he'd deal with that for later. For the moment, he had every right to enjoy his present location, and company. There would be quite a lot of work to do ahead, he had no doubt. So, for now...

He turned back toward the beautiful cobaltrider still left in the bed, his eyes tracing the lines of her with clear appreciation before returning to meet hers. "This," he said, voice deeper with sleep, "is quite a way to greet a morning."

Casriel's smile was slow and liquid warm; rarely was her expression so unguarded and genuine. She reached out to brush N'sets cheek, appreciating his fierce beauty. Ever so occasionally, a man would strike her fancy. Cosenne was a marvel and he absence from the room obvious the moment she left it. Hopefully, she would return soon. To have them both close made her feel like her chest wasn't so ripped open.

"So it is. I'm pleased to have such delightful and talented company." Casriel purred.

They could dwell in that moment for a little while, the day after Fall and after a Queen Flight were typically free ones and Casriel had no intention of martial her Wing together in the midst of the aftermath.

Cosenne didn't linger long, and after splashing some water from a convenient pitcher and basin on her face, she returned to the weyr's living area and deliciously occupied bed.

"It's chilly out here," she remarked slyly as she slipped between the covers, pressing her cold feet to the backs of N'set's calves in a teasing way. "Luckily you've always been my favorite furnace," she said. Then she turned her attention to the breathtaking blonde with them.

"He's very useful in that way, Wingleader," she said with a smile. "Among other things."

N'set didn't flinch, but did reach to run his fingers over a sensitive stretch of Cosenne's skin. It wasn't too much to hope for an annoying tickle. "Useful, talented," he stretched again. "Words do so little to describe our appeal, I'd say."

"We are rather an attractive group, aren't we?" Cosenne said archly. She reached across N'set to capture Casriel's fingers and thread them through her own. Then she took their joined hands and traced the line that defined his very nice shoulders. "I suspect that the Weyr will be positively wild with envy should they learn about the three of us together. Wouldn't that be fun?"

Casriel thought of what her cousin R'fariel had, with two scarlet dragons favors his cobalt and he having made lovers at of both Kyabree and V'tayn. She smiled as sharp as a knife blade and let her divers be thread with Cosenne's. At the same time she arched her lithe body against N'sets warm skin.

"I think they would choke in awe, list in their her ya and some would scream 'Perversion! But we wouldn't be swayed. I rather like the idea."

"Let them choke on their envy," N'set replied, slow smile moving across his lips even as his hands found their way to a flank her, a hip there. "A reminder, of what predators they have in their midst."

And such lovely ones, too. He couldn't imagine a reason to leave this particular room, and this combined company, any time soon.

Cosenne sat up, and leaned against the headboard of the bed.

"You know, not to distract everyone, but... that's not a terrible idea. Especially with... recent events," she said, making a face as she referred to the outcome of the latest leadership flight. "It seems Yllaveth is of a mind to promote the old guard for a bit. Well and good, perhaps, but it wouldn't hurt to present a subtle reminder of who and what we are. And it might just reinforce the possibility of future... advances," she said, thinking of a drink she'd shared with a weyrling queenrider not so long ago.

"But we'd have to be very calculated in how we present ourselves. How do we both intimidate and entice, simultaneously?"

"By make it clear we are not three rivers, we are a lake. Touch any part of the lake and you send ripples across the whole of it. We intimidate by making it so that no one messes with another of us without getting the other two in his eye." Casriel said. She sat up slowly and untangled herself gently from N'set to steeple her fingers together, elbows on her knees.

"We seduce by make other cobalt riders want to be part of that group. We can tip most of the young ones in our favor. Don't hope for Sidran though if things get bad enough for New Guard under Sh'lors rule, she might...just might," and Casriel lifted her right hand to show just a sliver of light between her thumb and index finger "be swayed to join us."

She fell silent then and after a long moment, took a deep breath.

"We must be ready for the worst possible actions on Sh'lors part." Casriel touched her Wingleader knots as gently as she might a child of her own body. The brown rider might strip her of her rank just because he felt like it. Might make J'ril his Weyrsecond. Reduce them all to Wingriders of medium altitude wings and have done with it. He might place Casriel herself as Watch dragon out at Tarza, in hopes that her influence would ooze out of the Weyr like blood from a wound.

"Ready but do not give him anything. No emotional satisfaction on any level. If he is Weyrleader, we have to follow his orders in Fall but we don't have to kiss his boots."

"Kiss his boots, knock him head over ass if he needs it, one's more likely than the other." N'set had no consideration of emotional satisfaction in conflict - unless, of course it was his own. "And we are the kind of lake everyone would want a dip in..." he added, pleased with the three of them, especially.

"Do we know what Sh'lor wants" Cosenne asked, her lips pursed prettily in thought. "I find myself curious as to his motivations. I mean, other than the obvious drive of a flight. Why would any brownrider want to make an enemy of every cobalt in the Weyr? Not to mention Jah'vi and the bronzes. There's no love lost between those two, either, I hear."

She may have looked sidelong at Casriel as she spoke. No love lost between Casriel and Jah'vi, either. Cosenne wondered how the Wingleader would react to t his statement.

Casriel licked her lips, resisting the urge to spit in the presence of her two best allies. The idea of ever joining causes with that bronze riding usurper made her guts twist like devouring snakes, each head gulping down the tail of the other. She would never get the bitter tang of that day out of her mouth, never forget how he stood in the way and let her entire world fall to ruin.

"Again, I would rather seduce the younger bronze riders with rank and the fame and glory that follow. Jah'vis can barely keep his Wing together. I told him he wasn't so much as choice for Weyrsecond as a lack of options, exactly what he remains to be." Casriel told Cosenne.

"I think you should," Cosenne said. "Leave Sh'lor to me, if you like. And Jah'vi, too, for that matter. I have some skill at diplomacy. I will see what I can find out and let you both know. N'set can help you with the youngsters... and perhaps some of the new weyrlings and the ones to come as well, no? Do you think you'd enjoy teaching Breklynn and some of the other larger male weyrlings, N'set? I'd wager that Ashrah might be glad of your perspective for them, especially for those smokes, as they're growing so fast," she gave N'set a grin, and then let it slide to Casriel. For her little sister rode one of those large male smokes. And while Cosenne didn't know how he felt about teaching, no one could deny that N'set knew his craft extremely well.

"How could I resist serving aid to our fine Ashrah?" he asked, those beautiful lips of his curving in promise. "There are more than a few with potential, I'm sure I could be of service."

Service, of course, was not a word often applied to the cobaltrider, but never let it be said N'set wouldn't buckle in with the right motivation.

Casriel smiled, her hand leisurely stroking down through the center of her plush lips. She liked the idea more and more; a deft, three pronged attack was just what was needed to turn any plans Sh'lor had on their head.

'What kind of spectrum will your brown yield, I wonder? I host of greens, blues and maybe a single brown. Sh'lor, you'll rue the day you thought to stand opposite me as if you were my equal and not my subordinate. I have not come so far and lost so much to yield to fate now.' Casriel mused silently, her beryl colored eyes narrowing ever so slightly.

"Yes."