Drafri

Impressed at Falas Weyr

Drafri is aged 16 Turns. She is in good heatlth, fairly tall and has muscular build. She has medium reddish-brown tanned skin, striking orange-red hair that is straight and goes down to her waist. Her eyes are pale blue. Her overall appearance is average, not beautiful but pleasant-looking.

She was the result of a brief affair between her father, a dragonrider, and her mother, a worker in the Lower Caverns. Like most other children in the Weyr, she was fostered out and not raised by her parents. She tends to regard her parents as distant relatives rather than close family members due to lack of contact with them. However, she makes it a point to visit them often.

Drafri has a great love for the outdoors and has a wish to travel all over Pern. She really dislikes being trapped in one place for a long time, and often goes exploring during Thread-free days. She has a fierce temper and can be hard to get along with, but she is generous towards friends.

Ryorith

Pet

Koneb, a brown male runnerbeast from Sapphire Weyr, is Drafri's companion and ride runner on her frequent journeys. He may not be very fast or strong, but has great endurance and is very sure-footed. Drafri has trained him not to be afraid of dragons.

Story

It was unfortunate that Drafri had been born just before a Pass than during an Interval. Her desire to travel and explore was totally unsuited to life during a Pass, when most people stayed indoors due to a fear of Thread. She was unable to go out during Threadfall, so her trips were restricted to the few days in between Threadfall.

Of course, there was also the problem of her "irresponsibility", as her foster mother termed it. Drafri usually left her chores undone on those times she left the Weyr, but everyone knew she worked extra hard and for longer times on Threadfall days. She wished that her foster mother would be more flexible about work schedules.

Sure enough, her foster mother was waiting for her when Drafri rode in on her runnerbeast Koneb. Almost immediately, the nagging began.

"Where have you been? Do you know how much work there is waiting for you? Why can't you stay in the Weyr like other people and not wander around all the time?"

"I know, I'm starting on my chores straight away and I promise they'll all be done by today," Drafri replied evenly, trying to keep calm and not flare up.

"You'll never be a dragonrider if you keep acting like this. This Weyr chooses only responsible candidates for the clutches. And with you running off all the time, even other Weyrs' Searchriders won't be able to find you."

Drafri stood, stunned for a moment, and then shouted, "I know that! But I can't give up travelling!"

"Maybe you should try staying in for a change, young lady!" her foster mother called towards her as she ran into the Lower Caverns.

- - - - -

Eventually, Drafri decided to stay in the Weyr, even though she itched to be out and riding almost every single day. Koneb was restless too, as if he could sense her feelings.

The thing she loved about her journeys was the freedom to wander anywhere she liked. She could ride past isolated cotholds, farms, wild grasslands and patches of forest. The joy of travel was to see different sights everyday, and escape from the everyday routine of the Weyr.

Her foster mother was right, though. If she wanted to be a dragonrider, she really had to settle down. Impressing a dragon would open up a whole new mode of travel for her, and maybe she would actually get to travel all over Pern, which was impossible on a runnerbeast.

Drafri's hopes of being Searched and Impressing helped her maintain her determination to stay in the Weyr, but as the days went by, no Searchrider appeared. Her wanderlust eventually won over her determination, and she began preparing for another trip. After all, she was still young, and there were many Turns ahead and more opportunities to be Searched.

- - - - -

Drafri felt her spirits rise as she galloped away from the Weyr for the first time in nearly a month. Koneb was glad to be out too, almost dancing as he ran. Still, her good mood was marred by a slight feeling of guilt for leaving and disappointing her foster mother yet again. Somehow, enjoyable activities always seemed to cause trouble for her. She decided to look for wild herbs and spice plants she could collect and plant, to atone for her actions.

She guided Koneb towards a hilly area, and slowed to a brisk trot. They rounded a bend in the hillside, and almost ran into a green dragon.

Drafri was so surprised at the presence of a dragon there that she nearly fell off the saddle as Koneb stopped abruptly, stamping and neighing. Although he was not afraid of dragons, he was certainly alarmed by the strange dragon's presence.

The green opened a sleepy eye to look at them, annoyed that she had her nap interrupted. Nervously, Drafri looked away and saw the dragon's rider, who had been asleep next to the dragon, waking up and staring at them. There was a long, awkward pause as Drafri tried to think of what to say.

Finally, the greenrider broke the silence, asking, "What's your name?"

Drafri relaxed slightly, glad that the greenrider did not seem angry with her for interrupting their nap. "I'm Drafri, and this is Koneb. Sorry to disturb you," she replied, stroking her runnerbeast's neck.

"I'm Blizska and this is my Phaysath. Actually, I ought to thank you," the rider said, smiling and gesturing at her dragon, who was now wide awake. "We're supposed to be on Search, but we decided to take a break and dozed off." Her smile was a little embarrassed. "We should get back to work now. No, wait." Blizska turned to Phaysath and seemed to be discussing something mentally with her.

She seemed to come to a decision, and suddenly asked Drafri, "Would you like to be a candidate at Falas Weyr? Phaysath approves of you."

Drafri was stunned. She almost could not believe her luck, meeting a Searchrider here of all places. Finally, she managed to say, "Yes, yes of course. But I've got to bring Koneb back to the Weyr."

"No problem. I'll pick you up at the Weyr in the evening. Meanwhile, I've got more Holds to Search here," Blizska reassured her as she mounted Phaysath and took off, waving farewell. Drafri waved back, watching as they went between. Then she and Koneb raced back to the Weyr.