The forest was quiet as they crept upon the hold in the misty morning. Anata knew it was near the ocean, she heard the waves breaking far down upon the shore below. Chelif whimpered beside her. "Shhh!" she hushed, pushing aside a large stand of vegitation. "I'm cold." he continued. "Well, you'll be dead if you don't shut it!" Not meaning to be mean, Anata was only tense. The pair had shipwrecked upon the isle a few days ago. She was searching for a way off. "I'm sorry, you should know to be quiet now, though." Ruffling his hair, Anata turned to watch the hold stir into wakefulness.

"How the hell are we supposed to get off this fardling island?" she thought to herself. No ships were in the port at the moment, so they couldn't stow away. With a grimace, Anata hoped dearly she wouldn't have to let some old man bed her for passage. Those times were only the worst. Suddenly above, a great brown dragon burst from between, drenching them in that wretched ice-cold air. Chelif shuddered and clutched his sister's coat. "We need to move." she said, staring up at the brown beast. An idea had just popped into her head.

"It's okay Tri, we're going to find some food soon." Chelif murmured into his coat. Inside huddled a scrawny stray, visible skinny, missing patches of fur and one of it's hind legs. It mewled softly to him, blinking it's blue and green eyes. In front of him, Anata rolled her eyes. "Y'know that thing only takes food from your mouth. It can't hunt properly for itself." Chelif glowered at his sister. "That's why I want to keep her! She can't take care of herself." He stroked the feline's head lovingly and closed his coat to keep it warm. "C'mon, we're going to the hold. Act slow, okay?" He nodded, understanding his sister's ploy. It had worked countless times.

Carefully desending the slope, Anata held out a hand in case her brother tumbled and began to walk with a feigned limp once they reached visible range. She headed straight for the brown and it's rider. "Help us, please!" she called, taking her little brother by the hand. Immediately several people, including the brown's rider approached. Anata was mildly surprised to find it was a woman, with a blue, green and white flit perched on either shoulder. "What happened?" she asked concernedly, offering an arm for Anata to lean on. "Bandits, in the forests. They grabbed us from behind, pulled us off our runners..." she stifled a false sob. "They had a boat, stole the runners and all of our marks. We need passage to the main land." Chelif merely gazed around blandly, also quite good at acting simple.

An elderly man offered her his arm and gestured toward the hold, "Come, let's get some hot drinks in you." Anata shook her head. "My parents are waiting on us, at the weyr...we must meet them. They will worry after my brother." she said with a nod to Chelif. "Surely you can just-" "I said no!" she snapped, the realized her blunder. "I'm sorry, my parent's are so worried." she smiled weakly. The brown's rider had seemed to see through the pair's act and was watching them keenly. A few yards away, the dragon rumbled. "Alright, Tusath and I will convey you, our business is done here, yes?" The last bit was directed at the elderly man. "Yes, we are finished." He continued to watch Anata and Chelif with a skeptical gaze as the woman escorted them to her dragon.

"I saw the little ruse you played back there, very well done I might add." She smirked at the pair. "I don't know what you're talking about?" Anata said in a saccharine-sweet voice. "Like hell you don't. I'm Cristroga, by the way." she held out a hand to help Chelif then Anata mount. She hopped up behind them afterwards, her flits settling with practiced skill around her neck. "It doesn't matter, really. You've both been Searched whether your story is real or not." And with that, she signaled her brown Tusath to take flight, Anata's screech of "WHAT!?" ripped from her mouth and left on the ground.