Dalez's Search Story

    "Try again Gremmy," urged Dalez. "You can do it. Find me the black diamond chisel." Try as he might, the little bronze just couldn't remember which tool was which. When he made his ungainly way to the toolbox and brought back a completely unrelated object she sighed in temporary defeat. "It's okay, don't worry about it. Time for some lunch anyway." Chirping their agreement, both Lex and Gremmy flitted out of the workshop, a rather painful thing to watch when Gremmy kept bumping his head on everything. Oh well.
     On her way to the kitchens, she spotted something green just above her. Squinting against the sun's glare, she could just make out wings on the blotch. Dragon's wings. As it got closer she could see the rider stretched along the creature's arched neck. Backing up to allow the pair landing space, she tripped on a loose stone and went sprawling.
     She felt a large taloned hand gently pick her up and set her on her feet. Realizing it was the dragon, she bowed low in thanks.
     No need to be so formal, a voice laughed into her mind. Blinking very hard to recover from the shock of speaking with a dragon, she wondered how she could've heard it. Not it, her, thought the voice. You can hear me because I wish you to. Now please attend to my rider. She is here on buisness. Nodding her agreement, she walked over to the rider, a girl of between sixteen and twenty turns, and politely asked her why she was here.
     "Um, I'm here to pick up a jeweled belt knife I ordered a little while ago," said the girl. "I just thought I'd stop by when I had the chance. Name's Ritana, by the way, and this here's Jhacath." The green nods her head. "So, do you know if my knife's ready or should I come back some other time?"

    "Weren't you the greenrider that wanted the emerald set into your knife?" When she nodded, Dalez smiled in reassurance. "Yes, I've finished that. It was pushed back by a huge order which I'd received and couldn't turn down. It was already paid for so you can pick it up right away. Please follow me."
     Walking back to her workshop, she rummaged around until she found the dagger. Purely ceremonial, but still useful. The blade of the weapon was plated with silver and the high craftsmanship of the hilt was complimented nicely by the large emerald set into it. She turned around and showed it to the rider for approval.
     "Oh, yes that's lovely!" she exclaimed, carefully taking the dagger and turning it this way and that. "Last I saw of it, it was just a belt knife with a pretty hilt. The Smithcrafters did a very nice job with the plating and the emerald is perfectly set. Thank you so much!"
     A bit embarassed with all the praise, she was about to respond when her flits swooped into the room and Gremmy crashed into a large, empty bucket. Ritana quickly grabbed him before he hit the floor and looked him over to make sure he wasn't hurt. He shook himself and flapped his way to a perch beside Lex, where he was resoundingly scolded by the blue.
     "Sorry about that," she apologized. "Gremmy is forever flying into this or that. He's not very really very good at it yet."
     "Oh, that's alright. You should've seen Jhacath as a weyrling. She wasn't exactly the most graceful creature to grace the skies either." Outside, the green dragon rumbled in protest. "Anyway," she said, ignoring her dragon, "your patience and support is probably what'll make him a top flyer some day. Patience like that would be great for raising a dragon. Hmmm, by the way, I'm on Search at the moment. I just stopped here while I had a chance. Andromeda Weyr has a clutch on the sands, a white's clutch. We still need candidates for the sands, so why don't you stand? Even if you don't Impress, your skills wouldn't go to waste there."
     Surprised by the request, she didn't know what to say. Leave these mines, her home, her family? But to live at a Weyr, to have a chance of Impressing a dragon like Jhacath, it was every person's dream. And she was almost too old. She couldn't let an opportunity like this pass her up. It would only come once, and never again.
     Making up her mind, she nodded. "But, do you think we could have lunch first?" she asked. "Lex and Gremmy came in here to scold me for not feeding them right away. They didn't because I had a guest, but they probably will if I don't feed them soon."
     "Sure, I'm kinda hungry myself. There's a huge time gap between here and Andromeda."
     When they reached the kitchens, Dalez grabbed a bowl of scraps and Ritana helped her feed the flits. Then they ate themselves. Before leaving, Dalez found her parents and told them what was happening. Though they were sorry to see her go, they were also very proud of her.
     Finally ready to go, she headed over to Ritana and Jhacath. "Just climb right up," she offered. "You should sit in front since you're the inexperienced rider." Once she was settled Ritana hopped up and fastened the straps. "Okay, Jhacath, we're ready now. Nodding slightly to show that she understood, the green launched herself into the sky and between. After the endless moment of absolute nothingness, they emerged above Andromeda Weyr. What a sight!