[Statistics] [Candidate] [Hatchling] [Weyrling] [Adult]

Curiosity, Taana asked curiously of her friend.

Glancing up and smiling, Thriona replied, "You like it?"

The gold cocked her head, then nodded, as the blond elf held out a beautifully carved piece of swirled wood. Shaped in the form of a slender dragon, neck outstretched and wings unfurled, it looked magnificently alive. Thriona’s father was a dragoner and woodcarver, and the eighteen year old had picked up a few things.

Taana crooned appreciatively at the miniature and conveyed her wonder at how a dragon could get so small, and so still.

Smiling, Thriona explained to the little caerlizard how she had chosen the wood, then carved it into the shape it was currently in. "It’s a gift for Father."

Taana nodded her tiny draconic head and flitted off to attend to other business.

Left alone once more, Thriona hummed a tune to herself while she added the finishing touches. Picking up a few jars with varying contents, she finally found what she was looking for. A small pot which held a type of golden dust, which - when mixed with water and painted on - would create a subtle golden shimmer. Nodding to herself, she prepared it and, with a delicate paintbrush, smoothed it on covetously. When the right amount of the gold had been added, Thriona set the model dragon aside to dry.

"Thriona!"

The girl moved towards her mother’s voice, with a murmur in reply. As she climbed the steps out of her room, she covered the light source and closed the door behind her.

“Yes, Mother?” she queried as she sighted the older elf sitting on the sofa. Her father, Thionine, was standing behind her, leaning against a doorframe.

“Your father and I have been talking,” she began. Thriona groaned inwardly. Not this again. “And we have decided it is time you gave some thought on what you want out of life.”

“Mother...” she complained, but her father interrupted.

“No, Ona,” he sad firmly. “This time, there’s not excuses. You’re eighteen!” He looked at her, hoping she would seriously consider the matter. He did not want her, their only child, to grow up without a profession.

“I don’t know yet, is what I was about to say,” Thriona continued. “I guess I just haven’t found my calling,” she added nonchalantly with a shrug.

Riana sighed. “Just give it some thought, sweets. We’re not forcing you into anything, but you are older than most apprentices these days. Your father and I will support whatever you wish to do, love.”

Thriona nodded, then, when her father had said she could, turned back into her room where green Errata was perched on her bed, preening. When her friend entered the room, the flit crooned a greeting, then went back to her cleaning.

Taana flitted in at that moment, and scolded her daughter for such a ‘pathetic greeting to the person who loves us.’ Chittering a retort, Errata shot into the air and gave Ona such a loud and happy-to-see-you greeting, wrapping her wings around her neck, the elf had to laugh out loud at her antics. Taana nodded, satisfied, and settled on the girl's shoulder, entwining her golden head lovingly in the blond hair. Thriona grinned hugely and gave each of her caerlizards a rub.

When the thought of what to do in her life made itself known in her head once more, however, her smile lost it’s gaiety.

“What am I going to do?” she moaned to no one in particular.

Simultaneously, from both 'lizards, came a clear picture of her riding a huge dragon (Taana's image was of a gold dragon, while Errata's was green). The image was so vivid that she swore she could feel the wind in her hair and the taste of salt from the sea in her mouth. When she opened her eyes, she saw that one of the windows has blown open and the wind was blustering into the room, carrying with it remnants of the salt from the nearby sea.

Smiling and shaking her head, she dislodged the flits and flopped down on her bed, leaving the window open. Wouldn’t it be nice.

Thriona’s cornflower blue eyes scanned the horizon, motionless but for a single sailing ship on the dark waters. Taana sat perched on her shoulder, crooning softly; Errata lay curled up in her lap. Waves lapped quietly upon the sun-warmed sand, creating a rippling light. In the distance, a flock of caerlizards flew past the setting sun, their silky silhouettes disappearing into the dusk.

The young elf glanced down the strand, spotted a sand dune sitting undisturbed. How could she possibly let that beautiful mound alone? Grinning, she removed a mildly perturbed Errata, rose, brushed off her hands and knees and skipped towards the slope, two caerlizards speeding behind.

Curiosity, the 'lizards asked when they had reached the dune.

"Watch and learn, sweets," Thriona said cryptically. She climbed up to the very top and looked down. It seems much higher when you’re at the top, she thought to herself, but was not put off. Taking a deep breath, she fell onto her bottom and pushed off. Expecting a massive slide down the entire slope, Thriona screamed in anticipation. But after hardly moving a few feet, she stopped. “Huh?”

Errata cheeped and flew in front of her. Negative! Thriona shouldn't do that! she scolded emotively.

But Thriona wasn’t interested in what the little green said. She was busy thinking of some way to make her way down the dune easier, with less friction.

“Let’s see,” she began talking to herself. “I could... But then it would... Or if I... Hmm, that might...” Mumbling to herself all the way, Thriona set out to find a large leaf or strong bark boat of some sort. But this was not as easy as it sounded.

It was well past dark before the young elf stumbled across a dead tree with slabs of bark hanging off it large enough to hold her. Smiling, she mumbled some more, made some estimations and whipped the right amount off.

She raced back to the dune, glancing worriedly at the moon - it was almost midnight! - and hurriedly placed the bark sled on the peak of the small hill. She sat down on it gently at first, to test her weight, just to see if it would hold her. It did.

“Alright, Ona,” she mumbled to herself. “Don’t think about it. Just ... GO!!!!!!” And she was off. Gliding down the dune with gathering speed, amazingly enough, she didn’t fall off. When she reached the bottom, laughing and screaming the whole way, she watched as the landscape flew by, without any hint of slowing. She began to worry. The water seemed awfully close, and she could... Uhoh.

“Taana! Errata! HELP!!!” she screamed to her caerlizards. They looked at each other, hesitated a moment, then promptly disappeared. “Oh thanks, guys! Thanks...” But she didn’t get to finish her sentence as the next instant, she was in the freezing cold water, choking and gasping for air.

When she had finally managed to get herself - and the sled - out of the water, Thriona was shivering uncontrollably. Sighing and wrapping the soft - if wet - bark around her for warmth, she began the trek back up to her house. “Those silly 'lizards,” she began mumbling again, but with a big grin.

Thriona yawned, put on a flimsy nightrobe and groggily walked up the stairs from her basement bedroom. She loved being able to have a whole part of the house to herself, but the only bad part was the stairs she had to climb every morning. Reaching the top, the elf was startled to see her mother standing at the top looking more excited than she had ever been. She appeared about to burst with news.

“’Ona, come quick!” she ordered hurriedly, a huge grin on her face. “Your father and I have something to tell you.”

Thriona frowned, but the excitement was catching. She soon found herself as out of breath as her mother had been.

“Thriona, do you know how late it is?” her father demanded, but his anger was replaced by an even bigger grin than her mother’s - if that was possible. “We have some wonderful news.” He paused and looked at his wife, who nodded excitedly.

“Oh, will someone just tell me!” Thriona finally yelled after a few winks and ‘you go’s from her parents. “What’s going on?”

“Alright, alright,” her father said. He rose and walked over to her, putting a hand on each of her shoulders as if she were about to run away. “You’ve been chosen!” he said exultantly.

“Chosen?” Thriona asked, extremely confused. “For what? Father, what is it?”

“Chosen!” he repeated as if it explained everything. Then as the look of confusion turned into annoyance, he explained in more detail as if talking to a three year old child. “A Searcher came to our door this morning - while you were still sleeping,” he added accusingly. “She says she was hopiung to meet with you. She's been watching you, and her dragon wants you to be on the sands at Caer Brynmor when the eggs hatch! Ona, you’re gonna be a dragoner!” he announced finally.

Thriona was dumbfounded. Was she dreaming? Who were these impostors who posed as her parents and told horrid lies. How could they get her hopes up like this? How did they know that she’d wanted to be a...

“I’m gonna be a dragoner,” Thriona whispered to herself. The excitement built slowly, but surely. “I’m gonna be a dragoner!!” She whooped with joy and did a little jig with her parents following her lead.

Thriona ran out to tell her draconets - Taana and Errata were sunbaking and reacted slightly less than Thriona would have liked.

Knowledge, Taana announced haughtily.

"How? We only just found out!" Thriona argued.

Knowledge of everything, Errata chirped cheerily.

“Sure you do, silly 'lizards,” Thriona giggled and hugged them anyway. Nothing could spoil her happiness at that moment.

Certainty, Picture of Thriona on the sands, Taana announced, trying to prove her point.

"Of course I'll be there, silly thing, I’m a candidate."

Picture of Thriona walking away without a dragon, she pointed out.

Ona nodded. "I know, don't worry. I'm not putting all my eggs in one basket."

Confused, Picture of the clutch in a giant wicker basket, Errata sent, cocking her head.

"No!" Thriona laughed, giving the green a scratch. "Nevermind, honey. I hope my dragon will be brighter that you two," she added with a chuckle.

Taana looked at her companion, who had begun to preen at an odd angle and toppled over on her backside. Certainty.