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It was hard to say exactly when Ryah had become aware of Arcadin. He certainly did stand out -- towering height that he had -- but since she was often out on search (and everyone looked small from the back of a dragon), it had taken a few run-ins before she began to recognize him. The first time, she had gone to him for a minor injury after Threadfall when the healers were overburdened and drowning in more serious injuries. He had wordlessly and effectively healed her with a professional distance that put her at ease, sticking little pins in to a muscle here and there until the throbbing finally subsided. After the thrum of battle, having a chatty healer sometimes made her wish the Thread had bored out her hearing.

For awhile, she thought he was just that -- a healer -- but then another day, she spotted him in a lesson with other Candidates when she had returned from Search with Kairinth. However, it was a much more unexpected meeting that had caused him to truly register on Ryah's radar: herb picking. With Thread returned, it had become harder and harder to find wild herbs, and Ryah dare not chance attempting to grow the sunlight dependent things indoors. But, despite her status as a dragonrider, cookingcraft was still a passion, and the kitchen workers were happy to have a few extra hands. It had been there, wading through grasses and snipping a bud here or there, that she had run into Arcadin time and time again. They both preferred the early morning, it seemed.

Ryah had been the first one to start conversation, of course. The first few days it was about herbs themselves, sharing knowledge, assessing each other's picks, and somehow that had led to some related bits of information: how Ryah had learned to do this with her sisters from their father. How her stupid little brother had never bothered, the type to trample over a choice bloom rather than notice it. Somehow, a casual friendship had formed. Well, at least Ryah would call it that.

Now they often coordinated their herb gathering, especially with Thread in the air and her great blue Kairinth able to sweep them away, if that ever was necessary. It was easier to work as a duo. That was where they stood now, a few lengths apart, working their way across the cold soil in the Reaches. They had been silent for a time, but Ryah broke it (she mostly always did) and said, "You know I went to Western last Sevenday. I was running provisions; they were low." She had volunteered for it. The girl never could help making herself valuable, even if it meant taking boring jobs. "I kept thinking I might run into him, might see Lorrox in the hallway and finally get to reveal it: how his selfish a** had missed out on his sister being a dragonrider for three Turns now. I had a whole speech ready and everything." Bitterness lingered in the creases of her words.

"Of course, it didn't happen. Typical." She snapped a frilled bloom with added force.

"My parents," Ryah quipped.

She fell back into silence for a time, funneling her irritation into her work. And then: "He's so lucky, you know, just to have a family that cares about him so much, that wants him to succeed -- good patch for you over here, by that brush -- and my blessed parents will go to their graves still worrying if that little whelp is alright." It was plain that Ryah wanted that consideration for herself. "How many second and third and fourth chances has he gotten? Most people don't even get the second."

She moved to Arcadin's other side. "And now he's standing at these Impressions and, surprise, surprise, not Impressing. Because dragons can smell wherryshit, and they have a choice whether to be bonded to him for life or not. Lucky them."

And the mention of Impression, the girl regarded her massively tall companion curiously. "How it'd go, by the way? The Touching?" Somewhere in her diatribes, she always did find a way back to Arcadin.

Arcadin's brief response did not surprise Ryah, but she intended to get more from him than that. "Anything stand out? I wanted to come watch, but I was out on patrol. It was your first time, wasn't it?" She continued about her work, not adding the pressure of staring, not that she thought that it would encourage him to speak more. If anything, her continuing to work was the only thing that might keep him talking, she thought.

Ryah moved forward and found a cluster of a tangy herb she liked to use in breads. She knelt on the ground and slipped a small spade from her pocket, careful to keep the roots in tact. They had a lot of flavor too.

"I wonder what the color spread will be," she said, gently leaning one stem to the side. "Some clutches have distinct personalities. Common trends. Maybe that one clutch is destined to spawn many great dragons. Could even make it into the Records." Would Arcadin be among them? Maybe. Ryah didn't see why he wouldn't bond. There were so many lackluster riders, and Arc was a solid guy.

"If I'm honest, I'm a little jealous. I never got to participate in a Touching. Kairinth came to me in the Stands." It had been the most shocking and special moment of her life. "Which egg sticks in your mind the most? I've always wondered if I would have felt bonded to Kai had I met him in the egg."