|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 5:12 pm
It was morning at Nerat Hold and the place was alive with activity. People hurried too and fro, hauling nets and cartons. The men were in good spirits, talking loudly to one another, trying to be heard over the hustle and bustle, while a couple of harried women tried to find their wayward children amidst the crowds. A young lad of thirteen turns plodded through the sea of people, the faint traces of anxiety setting him apart from the others. Today he was supposed to join his father and brother and head to sea, and despite his best attempts he had not managed to find a way to avoid going. So it was with a bit of reluctance that the boy, Westren, made his way to the dock where he knew his father would be waiting.
When at last Westren came to stand beside his father, the similarities were not immediately obvious. The both had light eyes and similarly-shaped faces, but that was about it. Reaching out, the red-haired youth tapped his father on the elbow to gain his attention.
“ Is it time?”
“ No, you’re early.”
Squinting at his son, the man sighed when he saw the less-the-eager face.
“ Must you continue with your nonsense? It is childish. No proper Fisher can be afraid of water!”
" I’m sorry father. I am trying.”
“ Well, try harder!”
Westren nodded faintly, causing the older man to sigh again. Daymin, Westren’s father, was not completely oblivious, though it often seemed that way. He had seen how pale his son had looked on the last fishing trip, had seen the way he shuddered if forced to close to the sides of the boat. Raking a hand through his hair, he gave Westren a light shove.
“ Get out of here. We’ve still a couple hours ‘til we shove off.”
Giving a grateful smile, Westren immediately took off, weaving his way through the crowd. The crowds were thick and he seemed to be walking against the tide of people, bumping into others frequently, but he couldn’t be happier: he still had a couple more water-free hours.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 9:47 pm
Ugh. It stank of fish out here. Even up in the cold wind, C’ren could smell the disgusting stench and covered his nose. Great. This place flawlessly combined two of his least favorite things: fish flesh and kids. Just his luck. Still, he shouldn’t complain too much. After all, being a Searchrider got him out of the Weyr and nearly anything was better than staying in that overcrowded place all day.
Almost anything. The salt in the air would also destroy Ceylith’s hide, he knew, and that meant hours of cleaning. And never mind the sand! No matter how careful a person was, it always managed to get inside some undergarments or something…
True to form, Ceylith was far more optimistic. Ohhh… Look, Mine! Shipfish! she said in delight as a couple of the dolphins jumped out of the water not too far away. She wasn’t quite certain what they were doing, but it looked like fun. The dragon watched enthusiastically for a few moments as Fishermen and shipfish worked together to get the fish in a net. She would have liked to watch for a few more minutes, but a stab of impatience from C’ren reminded her of their mission.
With a sad sigh, the dragon circled over Nerat Hold, her bugle announcing her presence just in case someone managed to miss the sudden appearance of a twenty-foot long bright green dragon. She landed delicately and shook herself off slightly.
C’ren pulled off his flight goggles and put on his glasses before sliding down Ceylith’s side. Already he was distressed to notice the slight imperfections in her hide that meant the salt was already at work. Better find some kid quickly then. “Greenrider C’ren and Green Ceylith from Ista Hold. We’re on Search,” he said to the gathering crowd. As if they couldn’t already figure that out…
The light-haired rider was less than pleased to be here, and it showed in his mannerisms. Not that he was ever overly polite to anyone, really. If it wasn't for Ceylith, it was unlikely that anyone would put up with him.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 10:12 pm
When he heard the tell-tale sound of a dragon, Westren’s eyes were drawn to the sky. Spotting the green dragon – hard not to, really, with her vivid color – his eyes followed her and her rider’s progress. Once he realized where they had landed he hurried in their direction, intent on seeing the dragon up close. Oh, he had seen dragons before, but never close; he hadn’t even seen the dragon that Searched his sister close.
Unfortunately for him, Westren had been a fair ways away from where the dragon had landed, so by the time he got there a crowd had already formed. Standing on his toes he swayed back and forth, trying to see over the mob of people and failing. A woman that Westren knew only as the mother of one of his sister’s friends caught sight of him and immediately grabbed a hold of his upper arm.
“ Westren, this here Rider is on a Search. Get up there!”
“ A Search? I’m not sure I-”
“ Nonsense. The only thing you’ve got going for you is your apprenticeship, and that’s sinking fast. Now go on.”
Westren choked and opened his mouth to reply, but was propelled through the crowds by the woman. Soon enough he found himself in the front and decided that perhaps it wasn’t so bad: he could certainly see the dragon. Now, if only recover enough from the woman’s rather forward comment so as not to make a fool of himself, he’d count himself lucky, especially considering the fact that the rider before him didn't seem to be in a good mood.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 10:27 pm
For his part, C’ren simply did his best to stand back while Ceylith did her magic. This was what she was best at. Actually, she was also good at being sweet, fast, and helping others, but Searches… that was what she was becoming known for, almost. It was already spreading through the Weyr that Ceylith and C’ren----of all people, C’ren!!---had Searched the new little goldrider, Annelie, when she was right under everyone else’s nose.
Speaking of noses, C’ren rubbed his now, feeling a slight indentation from his flight goggles. Sharding things never fit correctly.
As always, the Green clearly enjoyed being the center of attention for once. With a decidedly regal air---or what she hoped passed as one---she looked over the young adults and teenagers gathering in front of her. But not too close, she was pleased to see; C’ren hated it when his personal space was invaded and, in times of stress, his personal space seemed to encompass an area up to a mile around his body.
Taking her sweet time about this, the Green dragon inspected each possible Candidate closely, putting her face right up near them. The smell of the oil C’ren used on her combated the stench of fish guts and occasionally even won, filling the nearby air with the scent of spices and ash. Still, she passed over many of the Candidates, amid groans of dismay and disappointment. Occasionally, she would spend nearly five minutes just looking at someone with those huge faceted eyes of hers.
Finally, they focused on one boy with ginger hair. Ceylith blinked slowly.
Well, he was certainly seeing a dragon up close now. She was very nearly touching him at this rate before she finally backed away. This one will do, she announced to C’ren, emitting a small noise of pleasure at the lucky find.
C’ren was more dubious. The boy was younger than the preferred Candidates; right now, there was a push for slightly older Candidates so they wouldn’t be easily distracted by sparkly things. But he knew better than to argue with Ceylith about such things.
Besides, the sooner they left, the sooner he could try to get that stench of rotten fish out of his clothes. “What’s your name? Ceylith says that you’ve got potential to be a Candidate.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 11:04 pm
Westren watched as the Green examined the assembled children, holding his breath when the dragon at last came to examine him. As the minutes passed and the dragon’s face slowly got closer to his own he had to fight the urge to fidget. When the Green finally pulled away he released a breath he hadn’t been aware of holding, silently congratulating himself for not doing anything stupid.
The self congratulation seemed to have been a tad too early, for when the rider spoke Westren merely stared for a moment in disbelief.
‘ Me? A Candidate? Well, I suppose stranger things have happened, seeing as how sister got Searched, but still…’
“ My name is Westren, sir. It is an honor to be considered.” Executing a hasty half bow, Westren decided that today was a good day indeed. Being Searched was a definite way out of going on this fishing trip, and perhaps any future fishing trips if his luck held.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 11:42 pm
‘Westren’. C’ren carefully wrote that out in his painfully neat handwriting on a bit of hide that was tucked into a pocket. The Weyr liked to keep records of this sort of thing, just in case anyone came around asking about the kid and all. He blinked at Westren for a while. And then blinked some more.
Finally, he spoke again. “Well? Aren’t you going to go tell your parents? Go on. You’ll want to pack and dress warmly, if you decide to come.” And if his parents allowed him, of course. It happened occasionally, where a parent would refuse to let their precious little flower or baby go away to the big nasty Weyr and it was oh-so-horrible. “Go on. Ceylith and I can wait.”
Ceylith gave her rider a withering look. Oh, he always did this! Just once she would like it if he acted pleasantly towards others. No wonder all of these poor Holdfolk had such negative ideas about riders and their dragons. Hoping to try and make up for her rider’s negative attitude, she gave Westren a slight nudge with her nose, urging him to go find his parents. It wasn’t much of a contact, but it was more than she had favored others with. He was younger than the ones she usually Searched, which made her even more inclined to be kind. Young creatures were so cute…
Unfortunately, C’ren seemed to have some sort of a personal vendetta against children, one that Ceylith simply couldn’t understand.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2009 9:49 pm
Thinned lips and a furrowed brow gave away the confusion and faint irritation that Westren felt at the rider’s demeanor. The man – C’ren, was it? - was certainly not the affable sort. Resisting the rather childish desire to stick out his tongue, he merely nodded, offering Ceylith a smile before jogging off to find his mother and sister.
This farewell started like many before it: disbelief, pride, and generous amount tears. Disbelief came because Westren’s mother couldn’t believe he’d gotten Searched, and pride came when she realized that another one of her babies had the chance to become a dragonrider. The tears came from both his mother and his sister when they realized that he, like Quinnel before him, would be leaving. It was here that this farewell diverged a bit from tradition.
Gathren, Westren’s twin brother, was rather confused to find his brother consoling his crying mother and sister. The confusion turned to amusement when he heard that Westren had been Searched, but the amusement quickly morphed into anger when he realized that it was not a joke. Heated words were exchanged, and then to the horror of his mother and sister, Westren soon found himself pinned to the wall by his jealous, seething brother. Having neither the strength – Gathren had always been physically stronger then he – or time for a brawl, Westren resorted to an age-old effective, but dirty trick: kneeing his brother in the groin.
As his brother lay whimpering on the floor, Westren grabbed his bag, hugged the downcast Iantha, kissed his mother on the forehead, and darted out the room. As he hurried back to C’ren and Ceylith, he for once paid no heed to the rather ungainly gait pubescent body had while running. He simply wished to leave before his brother found a way to feed his fledgling headache.
Standing before C’ren for a moment, he grappled to catch his breath before murmuring,“ I’m ready.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2009 10:07 pm
By the time Westren returned, C’ren was stubbornly avoiding any and all questions and doing his best to keep the twenty-foot long Ceylith between himself and any curious bystanders. As it turned out, most people were more interested in the dragon than her rider. That was a relief. But there were always a few who wanted to bother him with questions and comments and, for the love of Faranth, they never shut up.
It was a relief when the boy came back into view. C’ren looked him up and down dispassionately, taking in his slightly ruffled look and the wet drops on his shoulders. Ah. Crying parents. That would explain why it took so long. “You were told to dress warmly,” he pointed out. “But you’re still wearing the same clothes that you had on before. Well, you’ll learn soon enough. Let’s get you on Ceylith.” He tightened the straps accordingly and then climbed up onto the Green.
“What you want to do is put your foot he…” he paused there, suddenly remembering that Westren was just a little kid. He wouldn’t be able to easily reach his foot up to the straps that surrounded Ceylith’s belly.
Thankfully, Ceylith had a solution. She lifted one of her front legs to act as a stepping-stool for little Westren, so he could at least reach the strap. Just because C’ren had to be rude didn’t mean she would act the same way. Besides. Westren was tiny and adorable, like most young humans.
C’ren patted the Green affectionately, letting her know he was grateful for the help even if he didn’t voice it. “Alright, just step up here and then grab the strap. You’ll be able to climb up here. Now, we’re going to have to go between. It’ll be… disturbing.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2009 10:47 pm
Oh, right. Clothes. Changing clothes seemed like something important, especially since the rider had recommended that he do so. Westren knew he that had forgotten something, but he had thought it was something negligible, like a hairbrush.
Speaking of hair, Westren ran a hand through his hair, fiddling with the new braids in the back. As he had tried to pack, Iantha had followed him about, braiding his hair; a parting gift, he supposed. While the idea was nice, he found himself considering whether or not to undue the messily made braids.
Eyeing the crooked dragon leg, memories resurfaced that replaced the faint scowl on his face with a small grin.
“ I remember my sister doing this.”
Placing his foot on the large, green dragon’s leg, he gripped the strap to pull himself up. He failed in his first attempt – he was certain that the momentary dangling did not look intentional and did not go unnoticed – but was successful on his second try. Finally perched atop the dragon, Westren chuckled happily.
“ At least I didn’t nearly fall off the other side, like Quinnel did.” Pausing, he took in the sights from his new vantage point – Ceylith’s back was darker then the rest of her, and she was quite large – before patting Ceylith reverantly and speaking again. “ You’re really a lovely dragon; much prettier then the one that Searched my sister.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Apr 04, 2009 8:31 pm
The boy’s failure didn’t go unnoticed, but C’ren did his best to pretend otherwise. It wasn’t like anyone managed to get on a dragon perfectly the first time. But his words piqued C’ren’s curiosity. “You have a sister who was also Searched?” he said, or rather asked. There was a slight inflection on the end of the sentence that made it into a question rather than a statement.
Ceylith took quite a lot of pride in the boy’s words, looking over her shoulder at him. She was very nearly smiling, actually, or about as close to a smile as a dragon’s face could manage. I like him, she told her rider. Of course, she liked just about anyone who called her ‘pretty’.
Westren. She repeated the boy’s name once more, trying to remember it. While C’ren was fairly content to let the Candidates run around willy-nilly---or at least he pretended to be so; Ceylith knew him better than to believe him, of course----the Green enjoyed keeping track of the ones she Searched. It was her job. It gave her a sense of importance. Not to mention, she had been getting a lot more attention since she had Searched the girl who Impressed the newest little Queen!
“You’ll want to put your hands on my waist, by the way. As I said, we’re going to go between. It will not be pretty. It will not be pleasant. There’s pretty much no way of explaining what it’s really like. All I can really tell you is that it’s not entirely unknown for those unused to it to pee themselves or throw up. Just… try to aim it over the side if you feel the urge, please. Oh, and Ceylith appreciates the comment; she thanks you for it.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Apr 07, 2009 12:16 pm
“ Mm, everyone was surprised when Quinnel got Searched. Father asked L’thor – the rider that Searched her – if he was joking.”
His mother and sister had seemed surprised when he announced that he had been Searched, but that had more to do with the fact that he was the second in the family to be Searched. Everyone, himself included, had been shocked when Quinnel was Searched because they simply couldn’t imagine her as a dragon rider; the idea was nearly laughable!
Nodding at the riders words, Westren tried to brace himself for the trip “between.” It most certainly didn’t sound pleasant and he couldn’t help but wonder how long it took riders to become accustomed to it. He very nearly asked C'ren, but decided against it; best not to test the rider's patience.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2009 5:04 pm
L’thor? Oh right. C’ren had heard of him, although he didn’t personally know the man or his dragon. He was fairly certain he was a fellow Greenrider, although that didn’t make him feel any sort of camaraderie for the stranger. Naturally, C’ren didn’t know Quinnel; there were so many Candidates running around, it was impossible to know everything about them. Well, unless you were Nandeli, anyway, but she didn’t really count. She was just a statistical anomaly and so could be safely ignored, like the exception that proved the rule.
“I’m not surprised. Many people have a similar reaction when their kids are Searched.”
Ceylith, on the other hand, tried to remember who L’thor’s dragon was. The boy had said she was prettier… she could almost recall, but the memories kept slipping away from her, like trying to cup water in her claws. The Green would have stayed there for a while longer, struggling to remember, but C’ren’s gentle nudge reminded her of her current duty.
Those great wings of hers spread out and flapped several times, and took off. It wasn’t exactly a gentle take-off. Sure, it looked like pure grace and elegance to others, but to those on her back it was a temporary moment of complete chaos. Once in the air, instinct took over and the dragon was soaring with barely a movement. Just the slightest tilt of her wings and she would careen off into another direction. And the speed! Ceylith, being smaller than her sisters, made up for what she lacked in stamina with speed and agility.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Apr 25, 2009 4:12 pm
Westren would later realize that he should not have been so surprised at the rough take-off, and yet he was. He was also surprised at how small things looked from up in the air. Strangely, it was not the sheer height that worried him, but the height over water that worried. Oh, he knew that falling off a dragon and hitting the ground would result in a rather messy death, but water…
Shuddering, Westren tried his best to think of something else. Closing his eyes, he focused instead of the feeling of the wind in his hair and the sound of Ceylith’s wings.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
