P'der and Escobath's Record
The Search Prader grabbed the last bundle of fish before leaving the boat. It was a good catch and would help feed the hold for the next couple of days. As the last one off the boat, Prader watched his father, Pramir lead the rest of the crew up the well trodden path to the hold kitchens. Finally reaching the hold doors, Prader was surprized to see a bronze dragon high overhead, circling to land. Knowing that he had better deposit the fish in the kitchen before he could see who rode the dragon, Prader barely made it inside the kitchen door before dashing back outside. The dragon had just landed, and the rider was beginning to dismount as Prader's father waited to greet him. Moving to stand by his father, Prader recognized the rider as his cousin D'nerek who was found on search just two turns ago. "Pramir! Prader! It's good to see you again," D'nerek called out as he jumped down. Pramir, stepped forward extending his hand in greeting, "D'nerek, what brings you back to this pea-sized sea hold just south of Southern Boll? Your father's ship isn't back yet, you know." "Yes, I saw my father on the way here. Clarth flew one of the white queens and I'm on search for candidates for the clutch. I thought there may be someone here that would qualify for candidacy." Prader's heart almost skipped a beat. D'nerek rode on search looking for candidates.... did he have a chance? He was only 16 turns old. Perfect age for Impression. His older brothers could help his father with the fishing and he could go with D'nerek to the Weyr. As D'nerek's mind raced picturing the possibilities, he missed some of what his father was saying to D'nerek. "Hmmm. Now let's see. Do you think he'd want to be a candidate?" D'nerek asked Pramir. Responding the older man answered, "You'll never know till you ask." Prader was confused. Who were they talking about, and how did he go about getting Searched? "Clarth, what do you think?" D'nerek asked out loud to his dragon. After a few moments, he turned to Prader who could hardly contain himself much longer. "Prader, do you have any interest in trying your luck on the Sands?" "Any interest! Of course I do!" Prader said as if it went without asking. "Can you come with me right now?" D'nerek asked, "the eggs are awfully close to hatching and we don't want to miss it." Glancing up at his father, Prader saw him smirk. "Can Prader take a quick bath first? We just returned from a fishing trip and the way he smells, the hatchlings will either be trying to eat him instead of being Impressed by him, or run the other way." D'nerek burst into laughter. "Clarth says," the bronzerider explained, "that's a very good idea. He doesn't want someone smelling so strong riding him no matter how he is related to me." A bit embarrassed, Prader raced to the bathing room to scrub off the stench of fish, sweat, and sea water. When he was finished, he put on his best tunic and pants. Quickly he jammed his feet into his boots and dashed back outside while trying to force his right heal the rest of the way down in. As an afterthought, he finger-combed his dark hair into something presentable before exiting the main doors. There was a group gathered outside when he returned from his bath. Among the members of the hold that had gathered were his mother and father, two older brothers, younger sister, D'nerek's mother and D'nerek's two sisters. Prader quickly said goodbye to them and climbed up on Clarth. He was too excited to realize that if he did Impress, it would be a long time before he saw them again. D'nerek took his place and they were airborne in almost no time at all. "The eggs are hatching any moment, so we are going to time it," D'nerek said in Prader's ear. That was the last thing he heard before the nothingness of between engulfed them.
To impress, or not to impress? One by one the candidates filed onto the sands. Today was the day of truth. Hopefully, he would walk out a dragonrider. Prader's first love was dragons, and his second love was the sea. Hearing his name called from the stands, Prader turned to see his grinning cousin, D'nerek wave at him. D'nerek's dragon Clarth had sired this clutch. Prader smiled back and waved before turning his attention back to the eggs. There were so many of them! One by one the eggs hatched, and one by one, he watched another impression. Determined to impress, he almost got ran over by a hatching on his way to the candidate behind him. Once more cautious, he had to be content to wait. Then as the stocky brown hatchling made his way towards him, he couldn't believe his eyes, or his mind. There was another voice in there. "Prader my name is Escobath. I'm starving! And I itch, and it's so very bright out here." the voice said in his mind.
To hear the voice of a dragon, his dragon was pure joy. "Come on, I know just what to do," he heard himself say to the brown. Then as he led the dragon towards the exit, his eyes found D'nerek's as his expression pleaded for guidance.
The Mistake When he emerged from between, P'der faced one angry weyrlingmaster. From the back of his old blue, R'mir ordered P'der and Escobath to land. Equally shaken by the experience, P'der did so without evidence of his earlier attitude. One landed, R'mir ordered P'der to dismount. Then, the deserved lecture began. "Do you realize what almost happened?" R'mir asked very concerned, and still mad. "You and Escobath could be stuck between because you didn't think before you jumped. I can see you realize the recklessness of your decision. Hopefully you now see that riding dragons is more than just a game. It requires concentration." P'der was now staring strait down at his new wherhide boots, occasionally kicking a pebble to one side. He didn't say a word. He didn't have to. R'mir concluded, "Why don't you return to your weyr - flying strait - and then report for practice tomorrow. You need a break." The concerned older rider gripped P'der's arm for a moment before returning to his dragon, Smarath. Once he winked between, P'der turned to look into the eyes of Escobath. "If it makes you feel any better, that was nothing compared to the reprimand Queen Raenith gave me," the much more humble dragon admitted. "Well then," P'der suggested, "why don't we get home, fill our stomachs, and get a much needed sleep." Escobath didn't say anything, but politely bent so his rider could mount.
|
