"Come on Zhlae! Let's go!" Zhlae smiled, and hurried faster. Dhyay was small and enerjetic, and very impatient. She was ready to go, and ready to go now. The five quintuplets, Zhlae, Dhyay, Drilum, Epifoni and Carlen, and their younger sister Ayaesa were all off to Ryslen Weyr, were they heard that there were many firelizards on the beaches. Each of the thirteen children in the family had dreams of someday Impressing a Pernese Dragon. The six were off together to try their luck with Flits. And Dhyay was nervous as ever.

"Come on, let's go!" Zhlae's smile widened as she took her time. Her sister moaned and grabbed fistfuls of her hair, and looked towards the Heavens.

"Oh why was I cursed with such a wretched sister?!" cried Dhyay. Zhlae looked up from her knapsack.

"Just lucky, I guess." Dhyay stared at her sister, and then dissolved into a fit of giggles. Epifoni peered into the room at that moment, and rolled her eyes at Dhyay.

"Come on you two. Those eggs can't wait forever." Zhlae grabbed her bag and walked from the room, Dhyay trailing behind. They met up with the other three. Carlen, Ayaesa and Drilum were already packed on the runnerbeasts, and waiting impatiently. Zhlae sighed, and threw her pack over her beast's back. She stroked the palimino's forehead, and climbed onto her back. When they were all ready, they waved goodbye to their mother, and trotted down the trail toward Ryslen.

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A long while later, several months at the least, they arrived at the Weyr, travel weary. But they were welcomed graciously, and cleaned and fed almost immediately after they arrived. Ayaesa was too excited to wait, and she dragged Epifoni and Zhlae to the Hatchery. There was a pile of the same soft red sand as in the Hatching grounds, and it was equally as hot. Buried within the soft red sands were dozens of firelizard eggs, some small, some larger, some softer, some harder, and every one a soft cream swirled with a grey-blue. Ayaesa rushed forward to the egg of her choice, a rather small one. Epifoni picked the largest egg she could find (quite ironic considering her size), and Zhlae looked over the eggs for a while before choosing one off to the side on its own. They sat and waited, holding meat scraps in their hands. Other people came and went, and in all, Zhlae counted two greens, a blue, a brown and one bronze hatched and impressed. But still, her sisters' eggs and hers did not hatch. Ayaesa was slowly becoming discouraged when suddenly her egg gave a jump. She squealed in delight, and got ready. Dhyay and Zhlae cheered for her when the egg hatched to reveal a dainty green. Ayaesa proudly left the Hatchery, carrying the newly hatched flit she called Tug. Dhyay and Zhlae shared a smile before Dhyay's egg started rocking ferociously. Dhyay watched with wide eyes as a crack appeared, and then the egg broke into several pieces, sending a rather large blue tumbling head over heals. Dhyay lept forward and gave him the meat, smiling the biggest smile ever.

"I'm calling him Jef," she stated proudly. She stood away from the sand, but waited for her sister. Zhlae waited patiently. She turned to Dhyay and shrugged, when her egg shattered violently into thousands of pieces revealing a bronze in all his glory, bleating at the top of his lungs. Zhlae stared in shock for a moment before giving him the meat, which he ate hungrily. Zhlae scooped him up in her arms, smiling.

"Congratulations, Zhlae! A bronze! What's his name?" Zhlae looked at the tiny bronze. He smacked her cheek lightly with one foot.

"Tag." Dhyay repeated the name, smiling. Jef squawked in her arms, and she kissed the top of his head. Dhyay and Zhlae left the Hatchery, talking ecitedly about their new companions.

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A few days later, Zhlae and her siblings left for home. They had become friends with some of the people at Ryslen. Zhlae was sad to go. She hugged her new friends goodbye, and then climbed atop the runnerbeast and started for home.

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And now, Zhlae was at Tripaldi. It was a new place, different from Ryslen- and yet similar. Of course, all Weyrs were probably similar. It was a wondeful place, very beautiful. She was glad to have been Searched for it.

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A few days before they had left, Zhlae had been out working with the runners. It had been stormy that day, and in the midst of rain and thunder, she had been trying to get the runners into the barn. A man had come out of nowhere, and helped her to gather the last of the runners. She had thanked him over and over, and invited him inside for some klah. Her siblings had been curious, and asked him thousands of questions, which he answered patiently. It turned out that his name was K'ral, and he was a Searchrider from Tripaldi Weyr and had been out on Search. His dragon, Binerath, had told him of a suitable candidate below, and he had found her (Zhlae) trying to gather the runners. And now, there he was, drinking klah with her family and waiting for the storm to disperse.

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Zhlae thanked K'ral many times, both for Searching her and for bringing her to the Weyr. She settled nicely in the barracks with the other girls, and fit in quickly. She made fast friends with everyone, because of her bubbly and kind personality. She looked forward to standing on the Sands, whether she Impressed or not.