Izumi, as Calais had named the strange little creature, chirped happily from the pond Calais was sitting beside as he read. The snakelike creature loved swimming, using it's small wings to propel and steer itself through the water. Calais looked over at his pet, smiling. He set down the book he was reading, careful to mark his place.
Jumping up, he stode down to the water's edge, picking up Izumi as the yellow-white creature slithered it's way out of the water toward him. He stroked the creature's smooth head. He'd actually grown quite attached to the little creature since he had found it's egg.
Izumi crooned from his arms, but then let out a startled hiss as it saw something appear behind Calais. Setting the creature back on the ground, Calais turned around to see what it was and stared, startled. A huge, green dragon stood in front of him, a brown-haired woman standing beside it. He instantly transformed, out of panic.
The dragon rumbled in surprise as Calais fled. Moving surprisingly fast for a creature its size, it chased after him and trapped him between its two front claws. The frightened rabbit huddled in the dragon's clutches, shivering.
"Dresynith! Stop that, you're scaring the poor boy!" The woman shouted as she stepped forward.
Calais looked up as the dragon backed away. Shifting back into a human, he sat on the ground and looked up at the woman. Her gray eyes were gentle as she looked down at him. Smiling reassuringly, she reached out her hand to help him up.
Still glancing at the dragon behind the woman nervously, he took the woman's hand and stood up. The woman smiled at him. "Don't be afraid of Dresynith, she means no harm. She just didn't want you to get away before I had a chance to talk to you."
Calais blinked in confusion. "About what?" He asked.
"About standing for a clutch." The woman answered as her green companion watched from a comfortable distance.
Calais shook his head. "What...?"
The woman sighed. "I'm sorry, I should introduce myself. My name is Maira, and this green dragon is Dresynith. I'm a Finder for Lantessama Isle."
Izumi chose this moment to rejoin his owner, making his way up to the boy's shoulder. "Izumi!"
Maira seemed very interested in the little snakelike being twined around the boy's neck. "A ceadra? Where did you find that?"
Calais shrugged. "Is that what they're called? I don't know, a hawk dropped me practically on top of the nest, that's how I found his egg."
Maira stared at him for a moment. "A hawk dropped you."
"Yeah." Calais said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.
Maira just shook her head. "So, this one's name is Izumi. What about you?"
"Calais." The boy supplied. "Uh...What's a Finder, and where's Lantessama Isle?"
Maira frowned before answering. "Lantessama's, well, not really anywhere. It's actually between dimensions. Never mind that. Lantessama Isle's a place where dragons live with their riders, like me and Dresynith here. The dragons bond to a human at birth, and stay with that person for the rest of their lives. A Finder is a dragon and their rider who goes out to find people to bond to the hatchling dragons. And, according to Dresynith, you have potential for a very special clutch."
Calais stood for a minute, taking all this in. "Let me get this straight." He said slowly. "You want me, to hop on the giant, flying...lizard thing behind you, so you can take me to the middle of nowhere, literally. Where I am supposed to take care of one of these things?"
Maira nodded hesitantly. "That's the gist of it, yes."
"Ah. Ok, then. Let's go."
