| Rylan pressed himself against a dark wall as he snuck around the side of the Hold. He just couldn't leave without getting one more mark for his father.....and without seeing the dragonrider. He'd find a way to the Holder, and hopefully the Holder was with the dragonrider. Silivren was still tied to the post outside the stableyard. Hopefully she'd be safe enough there. As long as greedy little stablehands didn't come along and start poking at her, she'd be fine. As he snuck along the outer edge of the Hold, towards the courtyard, Rylan thought about what it would mean to not pursue life as a BeastCraft. Oh sure, he loved it, loved everything about it...almost. There were aspects, such as this one, that didn't agree with him. He didn't want to spend his entire life trying to squeeze an extra mark from a poor Holder. But how else could he make enough money to support his profession? He loved raising the runners, loved training them and literally designing them, but that wasn't all there was to BeastCrafting, and maybe Rylan was just beginning to realize that. "You there, boy! What are you doing!" Loud shouting and a dark, shadowy figure in the distance caught Rylan off his guard. Without thinking about it, Rylan sprinted away. He wasn't about to be caught sneaking around the Hold like this! Oh how he wished he'd just left when he'd been "asked" too! But Rylan wasn't counting on his pursuer being in better shape than he was, and within moments he'd been tackled to the ground. "Get off!" Rylan shouted, struggling to get away. Despite his scrawny size, he was strong enough to push the other man away and scramble to his feet. Calm yourself lad, P'mir means no harm. A voice from nowhere said in Rylan's mind. Rylan stopped short, almost fearful of where he ultimately knew that voice was coming from, and who this other man was. The man, now seemingly engrossed in mumbling to himself, had Rylan's undivided attention. Staring a bit harder, Rylan could make out the knots on his shoulders that gave this man away as a dragonrider. A dragonrider! "Siyeth says you mean no harm, and I'll believe him." The man (P'mir?) told Rylan firmly. "Although I don't know why you're sneaking around, and you shouldn't be mind you, I'll let it go." And the dragonrider turned around and started to walk away. Feeling the opportunity slipping away, Rylan bit back a sharp retort and called after the man. "Siyeth?" The dragonrider stopped, and turned around with a grin on his face. "So you've a mind for dragons?" Rylan nodded, and smiled hesitantly back. The rider nodded his hand and indicated Rylan was to follow him. "I'm P'mir." The rider told Rylan. "Rylan." Rylan said, eager to see the dragon. Who wanted to talk to this rider when there was a dragon nearby? Not him, certainly. Rylan would have stepped up the pace except he didn't know where Siyeth was. P'mir obvioulsy sensed the boy's reluctance to socialize, and didn't force it. Can you believe your luck Rylan? You're going to see a dragon! Rylan chattered silently to himself as he walked, trying ot keep himself calm. He'd never really been close to a dragon before. He'd never really seen one except during Threadfall before. Dont' worry Rylan. Siyeth's mind voice cu tin again. You'll be seeing plenty of dragons soon. And Rylan got the Impression the dragon was laughing at him. "What?" Rylan sputtered, and P'mir turned to look at him. After a moment of stern regard, P'mir let his guard down and sighed. "This'll seem sort of sudden, but how would you like to come with me to Falas Weyr? Siyeth says from what he sees, you'll make a good candidate." Seeing Rylan's shocked look, P'mir added. "The sooner you can make a decision the better....This dismal place is so depressing." And Rylan nodded and grinned. "Are there stables at Falas Weyr?" P'mir looked shocked by the manner of the question, but nodded. "of course." P'mir raised an eyebrow quizically. "You have an interest in runners?" "I own one, and I won't leave her. If it's still alright, I'll ride her to Falas and keep her there. Whadda you think the odds are of me Impressing?" Rylan knew he sounded stupid, but it didn't matter. P'mir mulled it over and finally looked down and grinned his grin at Rylan. "I'd say I've never seen one of my Searches provide a Candidate that didn't Impress, eventually anyway." And he left it at that. |